Personal and Contextual Developmental Assets Predictors of Thriving in Adolescence

Introduction

The Positive Youth Development perspective stands out at the beginning of the 21st century as a conceptual alternative to health models focused on developmental problems and deficits. This approach promotes an emphasis shift from problems to strengths, from deficits to resources; it is therefore centered on factors that foster an optimal development [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Within this perspective, research on adolescence has aimed to focus on the items that define not only a normal or adequate development, but also an optimal development, i.e., Thriving [6].

In this context, the concept of ‘Thriving’ derives from developmental systems theories structured by a relational metatheory of human development that proposes a comprehensive approach to development which involves the integration of all levels of organization - from the biological and psychological to cultural and historical– while emphasizing that the basic process of human development involves relationships of reciprocal influence between the developing individual and the multiple levels of his or her changing context [4, 5, 6]. Consequently, the developmental system is characterized by a potential for systematic change, i.e., by plasticity and diversity, which suggests that positive human development can be achieved through the application of developmental sciences to actions aimed at the articulation of the characteristics of individuals and ecologies. This recognition of the potential for systematic intraindividual changes throughout development leads to the central assumption that positive development, i.e. Thriving, can be achieved through a convergence between individual resources and favorable contextual conditions [7].

Thriving is suggested as the specific expression of positive development in adolescence Benson PL, et al. [8, 9] explain that Thriving refers to a developmental goal or “developmental telos” that has a focus on aspects of development that go beyond the relative absence of pathology, and beyond mere competence or the simple performance of developmental tasks. Thus, Thriving constitutes a “theory of optimal development (not just adequate development)” [9].

Benson, et al. [8] explain that Thriving represents a dynamic and bi-directional relational interplay of the adolescent and the developmental contexts over time, and that it reflects the complexity of balance and plasticity between person and context, continuity and discontinuity, status and process. In other words, the construct refers to the current successful development, i.e., to “the location” on particular indicators, but, beyond that, it also refers to the person’s developmental “path”, that is to say it refers to an upward developmental trajectory, or to what the authors call “exemplary adaptive developmental regulation” (Benson and Scales, 2009). For this reason, the authors suggest describing the adolescent at any point in time as more or less thriving oriented, rather than just as thriving or not [8].

There is a lack of consensus in the research on what constitutes Thriving throughout adolescence and how it can be measured [10], as it is a concept under study [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21]. This difficulty in reaching a consensus on what constitutes Thriving in adolescence (compared to risk behaviors that need to be addressed in adolescence) may be attributed to the fact that indicators of Thriving reflect more of a particular moral and contextual perspective, while the universality of the concept is less likely [22].

The Search Institute¸ a non-profit organization that aims to conduct and apply research that promotes positive youth development, focused on seven indicators of Thriving in adolescence: School Success, Leadership, Helping Others, Maintenance of Physical Health, Delay of Gratification, Valuing Diversity and Overcoming Adversity [10, 23]. These indicators of Thriving were selected on account of their relationship with different positive results in several dimensions of a positive development, namely at physical, socio-emotional, psychological levels, and these associations are found in several studies in adolescents from diverse socioeconomic contexts, ethnic groups and genders [10, 22, 23, 26]. Once they are operationalized as a state, they suggest global development processes. In turn, they reflect everything that adolescents accomplished, at least in an adequate way, or even excellently, namely, a series of developmental tasks conceived as important for adolescents. Conceptually, it is not to be expected that adolescents obtain high scores in all markers to consider that they experience Thriving. As it was observed before, the proposition that Thriving reflects a fusion of person and context in mutually beneficial relations implies that there are several pathways, or combinations of markers that lead to the experience of Thriving [10, 22, 23, 26].

On the other hand, within the Positive Developmental Perspective in Adolescence, the assumption that positive development, Thriving, may be reached through an integration between positive personal and ecological characteristics, has led to the emergence of models that pay attention to these factors that benefit the optimal development of adolescents, focusing on the strengths, resources, and positive experiences of adolescents and their developmental contexts. One of these models constitutes the framework of Developmental Assets, known as Developmental Assets®, proposed by the Search Institute [1], which we present in summary form in Table 1.

Developmental Assets are defined as relations, opportunities and personal qualities that can be explored either at an individual, or a contextual level (family, school, community) so as to guide adolescents to a positive development [24, 25, 26, 27]. This Model proposes thus the positive developmental nutrients that young people need for successful development [25]. The Model of Developmental Assets based on the assumptions of systemic theories of development, configured by a relational meta-theory of human development, is theoretically based on the association of positive ecological characteristics (External Assets) to competences, skills and personal values (Internal Assets), which in combination, are conducive to successful development in many ways, that is, Thriving [1, 10, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30]. Thus, it is proposed that positive development occurs in the fusion of an active, involved, and competent person, with receptive, supportive and favorable ecologies, which, according to the model, constitutes a fusion of external assets (i.e., ecological) and internal assets, emphasizing that a successful development is dynamically related to the experience of a full complement of external and internal assets [31].

Asset 17: Creative activities: Adolescent spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater, or other arts.

Asset 18: Youth programs: Adolescent spends three or more hours per week in sports, clubs, or organizations at school and/or in the community.

Asset 19: Religious communities: Adolescent spends one or more hours per week in activities in a religious institution. Asset 39: Sense of purpose: Adolescent reports that life has a purpose.

Asset 20: Time at homes: Adolescent pends quality time at home. Asset 40: Positive view of personal future: adolescent is optimistic about her or his personal future.

Asset 37: Personal power: Adolescent feels he or she has control over things that happen.

Asset 38: Self-esteem: Adolescent reports having a high self- esteem.

We notice that there is some similarity between the notion of indicators of Thriving and that of Developmental Assets, given that both concepts are focused on the presence of forces in the life of adolescents. Nevertheless, Development Assets are conceptualized as “Building Blocks of Success”, whereas the indicators of Thriving are considered “Signs or Markers of Success” [24].

Thus, Development Assets experienced cumulatively throughout time are considered predictors of, or contributors to, the process and state of optimal development, represented by the Thriving markers. Since the Assets are conceptualized as “Building Blocks” of success, a question can be asked: “building towards what?” [8]. In this respect, the indicators of Thriving represent the ‘what’ (state) and the ‘how’ (process) the Assets that help adolescents in their experience. In other words, the experience of Assets defines the conditions under which the experience of Thriving becomes more likely, either as a one-time state or as a developmental process [8, 19, 21].

The goal of the present study is to analyze the experience of Thriving in Portuguese adolescents, and to explore the relation between the experience of Thriving and that of the Development Assets, by analyzing specifically which Internal Assets and which External Assets comprised by the model are predictors of Thriving in adolescence.

Procedure

This study was approved by Direção-Geral da Educação (Portuguese Directorate-General for Education, process number 0416200002). Ethics approval for this research was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Direção-Geral da Educação. This study was also carried out in accordance with regulations concerning professional ethics as stated in Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses (Portuguese Psychologists Association) [34] and obeying the same recommendations established by World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki. Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (National Commission for Data Protection, process number: 3154/2014) confirmed the anonymity of participants in data collection. Parents/guardians of all students who participated in the study gave written informed consent for data collection, use, and publication of the results. Data collection was conducted in the school. The survey was administered anonymously in classroom setting with standardized instructions. Students who received parental/ guardian consent were asked to complete the survey. Participants place the survey in a sealed envelope. This study ensured the anonymity and confidentiality of the data and their unique and exclusive use for research purposes.

Discussion

The Positive Youth Development perspective proposes that positive development, or Thriving, occurs through the integration between positive individual and contextual characteristics. This study had as its goal to analyze the experience of Thriving in Portuguese adolescents and to explore which personal and contextual assets are predictors of Thriving outcomes. In this study we focused on seven Thriving Indicators in adolescence: School Success, Leadership, Helping Others, Maintenance of Physical Health, Delay of Gratification, Valuing Diversity and Overcoming Adversity. The Indicators of Thriving represent the dynamical and bidirectional relational interaction throughout time, of the adolescent and his/her developmental contexts, which reflect status and process aimed at an optimally successful development [8].

The results of the analysis from the data arising from the composition of the Thriving Index suggest that adolescents experience an average of 3.57 Indicators. It is observable that the largest percentage of adolescents experience 3 (25%) to 4 (28%) Indicators. Only 1% of adolescents report experiencing all of the Thriving Indicators that comprise the Index.

In the analysis of individual experience of Thriving Indicators, higher results are observed in the experience of Helping Others (72%), Delay of Gratification (63%), Valuing Diversity (71%), as well as Overcoming Adversity (65%). However, only 29% of the adolescents report the Leadership experience. With regard to the Maintenance of Physical Health indicator, and taking into account the importance of this indicator in development, only 53% of the adolescents report their experience. It should also be mentioned that only 7% of the adolescents report the experience of School Success (i.e., school results mostly between 17 and 20 / mostly fives).

It should be emphasized that Thriving is a multidimensional concept, which is why the results are expected to indicate individual variation in interests and competences [10, 22], i.e., an adolescent may, for example, show high academic achievement, engage in volunteer work, and take care of his or her health, but may not engage in formal leadership positions. In this sense, it is not expected that all adolescents will score high on all indicators, but that the adolescents who report higher overall Thriving

Index scores will experience a set of indicators that reflect a modal response of the Thriving experience, in comparison to adolescents with lower overall scores [22]. The use of Indicators suggests that the Thriving experience can be achieved through multiple pathways, and it is reasonable for an adolescent to report an experience of a greater number of some indicators at the expense of others [10].

These data of Thriving allow for the identification of relevant indicators for all adolescents, while also highlighting the importance of specific indicators. This variety of relationships suggests that there is something distinctive regarding how some adolescents experience or report Thriving, emphasizing the importance of considering these differences in the experience of Thriving when focusing on the promotion of a positive development in adolescents.

In turn, the results of this study support the assumption regarding the additive nature of Developmental Assets regarding their impact on positive youth developmental outcomes, and they expand knowledge specifically to Thriving outcomes. The data indicate that the higher the number of Developmental Assets that adolescents claim to experience, the larger the probability of their also reporting the experience Thriving. It is noteworthy that, as an exception, Leadership and Helping Others are not statistically related to the Asset Levels that the adolescent reports, which suggests that the experience of these Thriving Indicators does not depend on the quantity of Developmental Assets that the adolescent reports, but on the experience of specific assets, or specific combination of assets.

The analysis of the predictive capacity of Developmental Assets regarding the experience of Thriving is consistent with these results. We observed that the experience of different Thriving Indicators is not similarly affected by the same Assets, but that specific Assets, or subsets of Assets, best predict outcomes, with Assets varying depending on the Thriving Indicator in question.

The data suggest the impact of a subset of Developmental Assets in predicting the Thriving Index, which accounts for 36% of the variance in the results. Both Internal and External Assets contributed to the variance in the results, with Internal Assets being the strongest predictor of global Thriving. The Internal Asset of Personal Power made the largest contribution to the prediction of Thriving. In the Developmental Asset Model, Personal Power is defined as the feeling of the adolescent that s/he possesses some degree of control over whatever happens. This feeling of power is related with the locus of control, which describes the causal relations between behavior and its consequences (i.e., that the outcome of a behavior be perceived by the individual as a result of something beyond his or her control, or under his or her control). Personal Power is also associated with expectations of self-efficacy (the belief concerning the likelihood of being able to influence an outcome), which in turn is related to the concept of perception of self- competence [25].

The experience of Developmental Assets accounted for between 9% and 33% of the variance in the diverse Thriving Indicators. Regarding the School Success experience, the Achievement Motivation Asset, which is focused on the importance of the motivation for accomplishment, i.e., the adolescent being motivated to succeed in school, afforded the greatest contribution to the prediction. In the Leadership experience, the participation in Youth Programs, related to the Constructive Use of Time category, which means participation in sports, clubs, or organizations at school and/or in the community, is the Asset with the greatest contribution. Regarding the experience of Helping Others, the Asset that produced the most significant predictability was the Asset Adult Role Models - that is, parents, caregivers, and other adults who exemplify self-control, social skills, commitment to learning, and healthy lifestyles; they influence the establishment of patterns of behaviors that reinforce boundaries and encourage healthy commitments (Benson, 2006). With regard to the Thriving Indicators of Maintenance of Physical Health and Delay of Gratification, the Asset Planning and Decision Making, which exhibits an adolescent’s capacity to plan ahead and make choices, had the greatest contribution in the prediction.

Regarding the Valuing Diversity Indicator, the Cultural Competence asset, i.e., the adolescent reports that s/ he knows and feels comfortable with people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds (it becomes an increasingly important asset as society becomes increasingly multicultural), yielded the most significant predictability. Regarding the experience of Overcoming Adversity, the Personal Power asset, previously mentioned, provided the greatest contribution to the prediction of his/her experience.

Thus, these results highlight a subset of Assets that contributed to explaining the variance in more than one Thriving outcome, namely the Internal Assets of Personal Power, Planning and Decision Making, Cultural Competence, and Achievement Motivation, as well as the External Asset of participation in Youth Programs. It is noteworthy that in addition to the importance of this analysis of the contribution of specific assets to particular outcomes, it is important to emphasize that these experiences are part of a global set of Assets that foster healthy development, observing that these can operate both directly and in combination to account for successful development [1]. It is suggested that Assets do not operate in isolation, that is, for example, some Assets may function as precursors to other Assets. Thus, the identification of the key predictors of the Thriving experience may favor the development of strategies aimed at fostering this experience, however the importance of adopting a holistic approach in promoting optimal development is suggested, so by adopting the Developmental Assets Model, the essential strategy focuses on building all the Assets in the life of adolescents.

In turn, it should be mentioned that, in Thriving results, specific Assets showed a standardized negative regression coefficient in predicting Thriving. Similar results were observed in the study by Scales et al. [22], being noteworthy that these results are contrary to what previous theory and research may predict, which lacks an explanation. The authors observed that in order to clarify whether they consist in artifacts (regression artifacts) [35] or represent meaningful explanations of the relationship between Asset experience and Thriving, the development of further studies will be needed. For example, in the analysis of Thriving Index results, the data suggest, contrary to the assumption of the Developmental Assets Model, a lower experience of Neighborhood Boundaries and Time at Home predictors of Thriving. The Model considers the role of the neighborhood in the development of adolescents, the emphasis on the Neighborhood Boundaries construct brings out the importance of neighbors’ taking responsibility for monitoring the behavior of adolescents [25]. This asset showed a negative regression coefficient and contributed 1% to the variance in the results of Thriving. However, the boundaries perceived by adolescents may be an effect of neighbors becoming more severe with adolescents who have exhibited problematic behaviors, rather than the other way around. In this cross-sectional study design these relationships cannot be inferred. The same relationship can be observed with respect to the experience of the Time at Home Asset (Constructive Use of Time category). This construct highlights the importance of time that families can spend together. It emphasizes the importance of the adolescent spending time at home, to participate in family activities and to socialize constructively with parents [1]. However, the time spent at home reported by adolescents may also be an effect of parents becoming more severe with adolescents who exhibited problematic behaviors, rather than the other way around. Likewise staying at home longer may also, on the other hand, condition the experience of the Thriving indicators of Leadership and of Helping Others, or even be conducive to a greater difficulty in social terms, making adolescents more isolated.

The results of this study should be interpreted taking into account the following limitations. Given the cross- sectional design of this study, causal relationships between the experience of Thriving and Developmental Assets cannot be inferred. Further longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether Thriving outcomes are a consequence or a determinant of the experience of Developmental Assets. In turn, regarding some of the negative regression coefficients, it may also be reasonable to treat them as anomalies that may arise from the fact that the sample is not representative, from measurement error, or other artifacts related with the adopted instrument or design. In turn, the measures used were based on self-report, and as such, they reflect individual assessment. Thus, we highlight the importance of including in future studies triangulation of the measurement of Thriving as well as of youth Assets, by means of other sources of information, such as parents or teachers.

In conclusion, this study suggests the importance of developing research aimed at conceptualizing and measuring the results of an optimal development during adolescence, namely Thriving, as well as the factors that promote its experience. This study highlights the importance of the assumptions defined by the Positive Youth Development Perspective regarding the experience of Thriving and the integration of the experience of individual (Internal) and ecological (External) Assets in promoting optimal development during adolescence. This perspective suggests that the experience of Thriving can be achieved if there is a convergence between Internal Assets, i.e., positive individual characteristics, and External Assets, which are found in families, schools, and communities – for example, the capacity of adults to provide adolescents with a positive environment in which their strengths can be optimized and positively oriented [7]. The results of this study allow for the identification of indicators of Thriving, as well as relationships between the individual and the context that place adolescents on a path towards successful development. The study suggests the theoretical and practical usefulness of employing indicators of Thriving and a Developmental Asset Building approach to the understanding of a successful development in adolescence [36, 37, 38].