News Release 11-03
Similarities and Differences Found in What Youth of Color Need to Succeed
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. (October 29, 2003)—African American, American
Indian, Asian American, Latino/Latina, White, and Multiracial youth all
benefit similarly from experiencing more positive relationships,
opportunities, and internal strengths (known as developmental assets)
in their lives, regardless of their socioeconomic status, according to
new Search Institute research. At the same time, they do not all
experience developmental assets in the same way.
These conclusions are based on analyses of Search Institute’s aggregate
dataset of 217,277 6th- to 12th-grade youth (including 69,731 youth of
color) surveyed in 318 U.S. communities during the 1999-2000 school
year. At the core of the study are Search Institute's framework of 40
developmental assets, which are building blocks of healthy development
that, when present, help young people grow up successfully.
The report reveals that developmental assets protect youth from all
racial/ethnic groups studied (African American, American Indian, Asian
American, Latino, White, and Multiracial) from engaging in 10 different
high-risk behaviors, including violence, alcohol use, and illicit drug
use. For example, across all racial/ethnic groups studied, youth with
few assets are at least three times as likely to engage in problem
alcohol use as those with many assets.
The developmental assets also promote thriving behaviors (such as
valuing diversity, maintaining good health, and succeeding in school)
among young people from all racial/ethnic groups studied. For example,
youth with many assets across all racial/ethnic groups studied are
twice as likely to maintain good health habits as their peers with few
assets. These relationships hold true for groups of youth from all
socioeconomic levels.
At the same time, developmental assets do not necessarily work in the
same ways for all youth. For example, constructive-use-of-time assets
seem more strongly correlated with school success for American Indian
and Asian youth than for other groups. These findings suggest that
these positive building blocks may work differently for different
groups of youth.
"As societies become increasingly diverse, we face critical questions
about how to ensure the healthy development of all children and youth
from all backgrounds and in a wide range of circumstances," write
authors Arturo Sesma Jr., Ph.D., and Eugene C. Roehlkepartain. "The
asset-building approach provides the opportunity to study and highlight
the strengths of each culture, while also serving as an important
reminder that there is as much variability within any racial/ethnic or
cultural group as there is between cultural groups."
This research was released in the online publication,
Search Institute Insights & Evidence. To
download the summary or complete report (no charge) and to be notified
of future issues, go to:
www.search-institute.org/research/Insights.
Search Institute Insights &
Evidence is published approximately six times per year by Search
Institute, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization with a mission to
provide leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy
children, youth, and communities.
