By: Search Institute Senior Trainer, Flora Sánchez
Organizations and community groups working with the Developmental Assets Profile (DAP) are often faced with the challenge of being able to document the impact of their efforts while also being able to track the progress of individuals or small groups over time.
As a trainer, I deal with these concerns on a daily basis. I thought I’d share with you some of the most frequent questions that come up about the DAP:
1. Why do you recommend the DAP?
2. What are main differences between the DAP and the A&B survey?
3. How has DAP data been used?
4. How can I make the case for administering the DAP?
So, here’s how I usually address these frequent questions:
1. Why DAP? Recently I’ve found myself often recommending the DAP for the following reasons:
- It’s quickly administered (It only contains 58 items.)
- It’s easily scored (by an administrator)
- It’s flexible!
The DAP measures a young person’s experience of the eight broad categories of Developmental Assets and also provides information about five context areas: personal, social, family, school, and community. This survey is designed to focus on individuals and small groups and can be used as a pre-post measure of program effectiveness.
2. The Difference: By contrast, Search Institute’s Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors Survey (A&B) measures the 40 Developmental Assets and also assesses risk and thriving indicators, deficits, and was revised in 2008 to include the Four Core Measures as required of Drug Free Communities grant recipients.
The A&B survey is designed to provide data to help mobilize action. In short, the two surveys complement one another even as they have different objectives. Much more detailed information can be found at www.search-institute.org/survey-services and by submitting questions through Search Institute’s Ask Survey Girl feature.
3. Uses of the DAP: The DAP lends itself to many applications. It has been used by researchers—both nationally and overseas—as a component of the research design, by program providers as a pre-post measure of program effectiveness, and by counselors who work directly with individual youth.
The DAP was first developed in 2005 and has already produced rich examples of its use and application.
- Dr. David Sloan Wilson of Binghamton University and Dr. Arturo Sesma, used DAP results to design interventions and work with out-of-school youth in the Philippines.
- The Millard School District in Omaha Nebraska began using the DAP to focus on at-risk youth and then quickly expanded to survey all students in grades 7, 9, and 11.
- Both sites (Phillipines and Omaha) used the data as a starting point to talk about the “whole child,” and resulted in the development of activities and programs to address identified needs across schools.
- Wendy Acosta, a counselor and therapist near Spokane, Washington, has successfully used the DAP as a strength-based tool for intervening with targeted youth, including some transitional housing students attending a residential school.
4. Making the Case: Use this interactive activity in a workshop setting to quickly demonstrate the benefits of having a score for each asset category to share with teachers, program providers, and even young people themselves.
