40 Developmental Assets

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40 Developmental Assets
CFPC Home Coalition Home Contact Us	What are assets? Assets are the positive building blocks that young people need to grow up to be healthy, principled and caring adults. The more assets young people have, the more likely they are to engage in positive behaviors, such as volunteering or doing well in school. In addition, they are less likely to be engaged in at-risk behaviors. The eight categories of assets are support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations, constructive use of time, commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies and positive identity. 40 Developmental Assets The series of tables below shows eight areas of human development, and groups the 40 Developmental Assets by these categories. The percentages of young people who report experiencing each asset were gathered from the administration of the Search Institute Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors survey to almost 150,000 6th- to 12th-grade youth in 202 communities across the United States in calendar year 2003.
External Assets
Asset Type	Asset Name	Definition	Percentage
Support	1. Family support	Family life provides high levels of love and support.	68%
	2. Positive family communication	Young person and parents(s) communicate positively, and young person is willing to seek advice and counsel from parents.	28%
	3. Other adult relationships	Young person receives support from three or more non-parent adults.	43%
	4. Caring neighborhood	Young person experiences caring neighbors	37%
	5. Caring school climate	School provides a caring, encouraging environment	29%
	6. Parent involvement in schooling	Parents are actively involved in helping young person succeed in school	29%
Empowerment	7. Community values youth	Young person perceives that adults in the community value youth.	22%
	8. Youth as resources	Young people are given useful roles in the community.	26%
	9. Service to others	Young person serves in the community one hour or more per week.	48%
	10. Safety	Young person feels safe at home, at school, and in the neighborhood.	51%
Boundaries and Expectations	11. Family boundaries	Family has clear rules and consequences and monitors the young person's whereabouts.	46%
	12. School boundaries	School provides clear rules and consequences.	52%
	13. Neighborhood boundaries	Neighbors take responsibility for monitoring young people's behavior.	47%
	14. Adult role models	Parents and other adults model positive, responsible behavior.	27%
	15. Positive peer influence	Young person's best friends model responsible behavior.	63%
	16. High expectations	Both parents and teachers encourage the young person to do well.	48%
Constructive Use of Time	17. Creative activities	Young person spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater or other arts.	21%
	18. Youth programs	Young person spends three or more hours per week in sports, clubs or organizations at school and/or in the community.	57%
	19. Religious community	Young person spends one or more hours per week in activities in a religious institution.	58%
	20. Time at home	Young person is out with friends "with nothing special to do" two or fewer nights per week.	51%
Internal Assets
Commitment to Learning	21. Achievement motivation	Young person is motivated to do well in school.	65%
	22. School engagement	Young person is actively engaged in learning	55%
	23. Homework	Young person reports doing at least one hour of homework every school day.	47%
	24. Bonding to school	Young person cares about his or her school.	52%
	25. Reading for pleasure	Young person reads for pleasure three or more hours per week.	22%
Positive Values	26. Caring	Young person places high value on helping other people.	50%
	27. Equality and social justice	Young person places high value on promoting equality and reducing hunger and poverty.	52%
	28. Integrity	Young person acts on convictions and stands up for his or her beliefs.	68%
	29. Honesty	Young person "tells the truth even when it is not easy."	66%
	30. Responsibility	Young person accepts and takes personal responsibility.	63%
	31. Restraint	Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active or to use alcohol or other drugs.	45%
Social Competencies	32. Planning and decision making	Young person know how to plan ahead and make choices.	29%
	33. Interpersonal competence	Young person has empathy, sensitivity and friendship skills.	45%
	34. Cultural competence	Young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural, racial, ethnic backgrounds.	43%
	35. Resistance skills	Young person can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situations.	41%
	36. Peaceful conflict resolution	Young person seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently	40%
Positive Identity	37. Personal Power	Young person feels her or she has control over "things that happen to me."	42%
	38. Self-esteem	Young person reports having a high self-esteem	48%
	39. Sense of purpose	Young person reports that "my life has a purpose."	57%
	40. Positive view of personal future	Young person is optimistic about his or her personal future.	72%
Permission to reproduce this chart is granted for educational, noncommercial purposes only. Copyright © 2001 by Search Institute, 800-888-7828. For information on asset building and Search Institute's national "Healthy Communities - Healthy Youth" initiative, visit: www.search-institute.org
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