What is Thriving?
Thriving is a new way to define and understand the dynamics of healthy development. The term “thriving” is used to complement the litany of negative outcomes, such as “avoiding alcohol and other drug abuse” and “avoiding teen pregnancy,” that have dominated federal, state, and foundation approaches to documenting the health of U.S. teenagers for decades.
As the conversation around thriving matures, it is expected that youth will begin to hear a new vocabulary about why they matter and why their healthy development is crucial for growing the health and vibrancy of the society in which they live.
What Makes the Idea of Thriving Unique?
Thriving is focused both on how an individual is “doing” at any given point in time as well as the path that he or she is taking into the future, and effectively takes into account both the current status of a young person and a process that unfolds over time.
Markers and Indicators of Thriving
The development of sound indicators of thriving has three purposes:
- To provide U.S. communities with a more balanced view of adolescents and their capabilities and contributions.
- To provide programs and agencies with an alternative set of metrics for evaluating program success (indeed, many youth development programs are designed with positive outcome intentions but forced to make their case by documenting their impact on risk behaviors).
- To posit a set of positive indicators that could begin a national and international conversation about the kinds of constructive behavior, postures and commitments societies value and need in youth.
Search Institute has identified 15 markers that assist in quantifying the level of a young person’s thriving. View them now.
Learn more about the Thriving Indicators project
Visit our Research on Thriving and Sparks page to read about what we’ve found so far in our research.
- You can also visit the Search Institute Store to browse and purchase additional resources.
