Open AccessQualitative and Quantitative Assessments of Thriving and Contribution in Early Adolescence: Findings from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development
Author(s) -
Amy E. Alberts
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of youth development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.191
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 2325-4017
pISSN - 2325-4009
DOI - 10.5195/jyd.2006.383
Subject(s) - thriving , positive youth development , psychology , salience (neuroscience) , developmental psychology , adolescent development , qualitative research , flourishing , social psychology , sociology , cognitive psychology , social science , psychotherapist
Research and practice in youth development converge in an interest in positive development, or thriving. They converge also in seeking to promote among youth an orientation to act in support of their own and others’ well-being through contributions to self, family, and community. Based on the results of both qualitative (open and axial coding of parents’ and students’ answers to several open-ended questions) and quantitative analyses of data from Wave 2 (Sixth Grade; 2003-2004) of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD), we found that adolescents and parents define a thriving youth in different ways and, as well, that the groups differ in the salience of contribution as part of their respective conceptions of thriving. We discuss the implications for research and practice of the two generational groups’ contrasting views of thriving and contribution