Young people who have high levels of the "developmental assets" are much more likely to engage in positive, healthy choices than those with few assets.
They are also much less likely to engage in high-risk behavior.
Below are some examples from Search Institute's 2003 surveys of 148,189 American young people in grades 6 through 12.
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Negative behaviors decrease as assets increase.
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Behavior Pattern
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Definition
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Number of Assets Youth Experiences
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| | | 0-10
assets | 11-20
assets | 21-30
assets | 31-40
assets |
| Alcohol Use | Has used alcohol one or more times in the past month. | 55% | 35% | 17% | 5% |
| Tobacco Use | Has smoked one or more cigarettes in the past 30 days. | 34% | 17% | 6% | 1% |
| Hitting others | Has hit someone once or more in the past 12 months. | 62% | 43% | 26% | 12% |
| Shoplifting | Has shoplifted once or more in the past 12 months. | 49% | 28% | 13% | 4% |
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Positive behaviors increase as assets increase.
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Behavior Pattern
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Definition
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Number of Assets Youth Experiences
|
| | | 0-10
assets | 11-20
assets | 21-30
assets | 31-40
assets |
| Sexual Abstinence | Youth reports never having had sexual intercourse | 50% | 66% | 83% | 94% |
| School success | Gets mostly As in school. | 9% | 19% | 34% | 54% |
| Helping others | Helps friends or neighbors one or more hours per week. | 62% | 79% | 89% | 96% |
| Spiritual commitment | Says that being religious or spiritual is very important in his or her life. | 25% | 45% | 64% | 79% |
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Negative behaviors decrease as assets increase.
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Positive behaviors increase as assets increase.
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Take the Parenting Compass Assessment - our online assessment tool to measure how many of these assets your child has.
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