Search Institute Insights & Evidence

Search Institute Insights & Evidence is a Web-based publication that presents the latest research from Search Institute on healthy children, youth, and communities in a format that is useful to community leaders and policy makers. All interested persons may download each issue at no cost.

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Building Bridges for the Sake of Youth: Community- and Faith-Based Youth Workers Have Much to Learn from Each Other

Most youth workers in both sectors share commitments to core competencies of youth work, including developing positive relationships with youth, being positive role models, and involving and empowering youth. Furthermore, most indicate that they would value opportunities to learn with and from each other—despite some significant challenges in doing so.

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Reference: Roehlkepartain, E. C. (2007). “Building Bridges for the Sake of Youth: Community- and Faith-Based Youth Workers Have Much to Learn from Each Other.” Search Institute Insights & Evidence, 4(2), 1–11. www.search-institute.org

Sorting Out What Makes a Difference: Youth Development Findings from Camp Settings

Examining and evaluating youth development efforts in communities and community-based institutions have proved difficult. The discreteness of the camp setting allowed some of the dynamics of positive youth development in four domains—social skills, physical and thinking skills, positive identity, and positive values and spiritual growth—to be examined in more depth in two studies by the American Camp Association (ACA).

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Reference: Henderson, K. A., Thurber, C. A., Scanlin, M., and Bialeschki, M. D., with assistance from Leslie Scheuler and Michelle Gambone (2007, October). “Sorting Out What Makes a Difference: Youth Development Findings from Camp Settings.” Search Institute Insights & Evidence 4 (1), 1–11.

Toward Quality and Equality: Fulfilling Our Promises to America’s Children and Youth

America is breaking its promises to its children and youth. Millions of young people ages 6 to 17 experience very few, if any, of the Five Promises identified by America’s Promise—The Alliance for Youth. That gap sets them up for higher levels of negative outcomes, including violence and poor academic achievement.

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Reference:
Scales, P. C., & Benson, P. L. (2006, December). “Toward Quality and Equality: Fulfilling Our Promises to America’s Children and Youth.” Search Institute Insights & Evidence, 3 (2), 1–10.

Positive Youth Development So Far: Core Hypotheses and Their Implications for Policy and Practice

As positive youth development moves from being primarily a field of practice toward having increased credibility in academic research institutions, how much agreement is there in how it is understood and defined? Although there are many definitions and frameworks of positive youth development in the field, there is also a great deal of common ground growing out of current theory and research.

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Reference: Benson, P. L., Scales, P. C., Hamilton, S. F., & Sesma, A. Jr. (with Hong, K. L., & Roehlkepartain, E. C.). (2006, November). “Positive Youth Development So Far: Core Hypotheses and Their Implications for Policy and Practice.” Search Institute Insights & Evidence, 3(1) 1–13.

Tapping the Power of Community: Building Assets to Strengthen Substance Abuse Prevention

Building Developmental Assets can play an important role in reducing many forms of youth substance use, particularly when asset building engages the whole community in contributing to young people’s healthy development. Young people with low levels of Developmental Assets are two to four times as likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs than those who have above-average asset levels, according to a new report from Search Institute. This relationship is true for young people from all racial/ethnic, family, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

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Reference: Benson, P. L., Roehlkepartain, E. C., & Sesma, A. Jr. (2004). “Tapping the Power of Community: The Potential of Asset Building to Strengthen Substance Abuse Prevention Efforts.” Search Institute Insights & Evidence, 2 (1).

Boosting Student Achievement: New Research on the Power of Developmental Assets

New studies suggest that Developmental Assets play a significant role in students’ academic achievement across a wide range of students. In fact, Developmental Assets appear to have as much or more influence on student achievement as other demographic factors and school reform strategies. Thus, building Developmental Assets has great promise as a strategy for boosting student achievement.

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Reference:
Scales, P. C., & Roehlkepartain, E. C. (2003). “Boosting Student Achievement: New Research on the Power of Developmental Assets.” Search Institute Insights & Evidence, 1 (1), 1–10.

Unique Strengths, Shared Strengths: Developmental Assets Among Youth of Color

New Search Institute research shows that African American, American Indian, Asian American, Latino/Latina, White, and Multiracial youth all benefit similarly from experiencing more of the 40 Developmental Assets in their lives, regardless of their socioeconomic status. At the same time, the importance of particular categories of assets varies by race/ethnicity, suggesting the need for focused, ongoing dialogue within communities of color about their unique strengths and opportunities for nurturing healthy children and youth.

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Reference: Sesma, A. Jr., & Roehlkepartain, E. C. (2003). “Unique Strengths, Shared Strengths: Developmental Assets Among Youth of Color.” Search Institute Insights & Evidence, 1 (2), 1–13.

Copyright Information

Search Institute Insights & Evidence is a copyrighted publication. It may be printed and copied for local, noncommercial use, provided that it is properly credited to Search Institute. For additional permission, see Search Institute’s reprint information.

Support

This publication is made possible through generous support from Lilly Endowment, Indianapolis, Indiana.