Search Institute has established an engaged community as one of the most important pieces of youth development. Read more about this research in the articles below.
Asset Building and Substance Abuse Prevention
One of the most effective ways of judging a youth population’s high-risk activity level is to look at its alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. Research has shown that asset building significantly reduces this behavior.
Service-Learning and Community Engagement
Both community service and service-learning have proven to be effective methods of building assets. These concepts can be implemented both in schools and in communities.
- Community Service and Service-Learning in U.S. Public Schools (2004)
- Service to Others: A ‘Gateway Asset’ for School Success and Healthy Development (2004)
Developmentally Attentive Communities
Communities, in order to successfully assist the development of their youth, must be intentional about building assets through community engagement opportunities.
Other Research Publications on Community Engagement
- Search Institute Insights & Evidence is a free online periodical that interprets Search Institute’s research for policy and practice.
- All Kids Are Our Kids: What Communities Must Do to Raise Caring and Responsible Children and Adolescents contains empirical and anecdotal evidence that describes how communities can work together to raise successful kids.
- The Search Institute Series on Developmentally Attentive Communities and Society
- The Possible Dream: What Families in Distressed Communities Need to Do to Help Kids Thrive provides findings from a study on urban and rural distressed communities.
- Healthy Communities, Healthy Youth: How Communities Contribute to Positive Youth Development discusses the differences between communities regarding their level of engagement with children that practice high-risk behaviors.
