For the second year in a row, Search Institute worked with Best Buy Children’s Foundation to assess the condition of the nation’s teens. Teen Voice 2010, like its predecessor, looked at three factors that are crucial to teens’ success: sparks, voice, and relationships and opportunities.
Like Teen Voice 2009, this latest study shows that not nearly enough teens have all three of these factors. Only 51% of 15-year-olds score high on the sparks index, which means that they know they have a spark, recognize that it’s important, and take initiative to develop it.
One of the interesting results of this year’s study is that teens with a high score on the Relationships and Opportunities Index are 86% more likely to score high on the Sparks Index. This shows that teens with sparks are more likely to have meaningful relationships with caring adults, and those relationships are more likely to be of a high quality. Teens who score high on sparks are much more likely to have an adult who “gets” them (71%, versus 45% for those who score low on sparks).
Teen Voice 2010 shows us that meaningful adult relationships and sparks are closely connected, and that teens need both to be successful in life. It also shows that too many kids lack those relationships and the support that they provide.
