This study examined the confluence of developmental assets, ethnic identity, and acculturative stress in the prediction of thriving among Hispanic adolescents. Thriving is used to encompass youth who are not only doing well now but who are also on the trajectory toward overall success. Study participants included 130 self-reported Hispanic middle…

The child well-being movement seeks to enhance the well-being of all children and protect our most vulnerable. The plethora of definitions and approaches to child well-being may create ambiguity and uncertainty about what child well-being means and what research-based frameworks are available to support it. In this initial study, the well-being…

Mindfulness has been shown to have positive effects on constructs related to resilience and protective factors by providing a means through which to decrease ruminative response and reduce stress and promote well-being. Although mindfulness has not been adequately researched within the school setting as a protective factor against the negative…

In this article we present a vision of applied developmental science (ADS) as a means of promoting social justice and socio-political well-being. This vision draws upon the field's significant accomplishments in identifying and strengthening developmental assets in marginalized youth communities, understanding the effects of poverty and racial…

Youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood need multiple supports to navigate the challenges they face. Over the past three decades, federal child welfare policy has significantly increased the availability of those supports. In 1999, the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program was created, increasing the amount of funds potentially…

The reemergence of positive psychology in the past 15 years has brought a renewed focus on psychological dispositions such as gratitude and their relationship to youth's subjective well-being and academic achievement. Similarly, youth development and developmental asset literatures have emphasized the value of examining youth positive…

In this paper, the authors provide an overview of the research literature on resiliency in adolescents. We explore the history of resiliency as it relates to the health and well-being of adolescents, identify common themes, provide a description of resilient youth, and introduce the developmental assets framework. To provide counsellors with an…

While having a purpose in life has been theorized as a developmental asset, the extent to which adolescents cultivate a meaningful sense of direction is not well understood. In the present study, cluster analysis was used to classify adolescents by levels of purpose exploration and commitment. The sample (N = 318; 55% female) consisted of youth…

The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between quality social support networks developed through high quality afterschool programming and achievement amongst middle school and high school aged youth. This study seeks to develop a deeper understanding of how quality after-school programs influence a youth's developmental…

The link between adolescent sexual activity and psychological well-being is a controversial issue in developmental psychology. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between three aspects of teenage sexuality (genital sexual experience, age of sexual onset, and number of sex partners) and positive well-being (hedonic, eudaimonic,…

Having a sense of purpose has been discussed as a developmental asset for youth and as an outgrowth of establishing a sense of identity. Using the identity capital model as a theoretical framework, 3 studies examined purpose as a mediator in the relationship between identity and well-being among adolescents and emerging adults. In Study 1A, (n =…

Bicultural stress, adolescents' appraisal of intergenerational conflict and discrimination from peers, can strain youths' capacity for functional coping and positive adaptation. Conversely, internal assets (IAs; i.e., positive identity and social competencies) promote thriving and resilience. We assessed associations between bicultural stress and…

Drawing primarily on three case studies, this article proposes a framework that those concerned about the welfare of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth can consider when developing, evaluating, or arguing for more effective programming: a relational assets approach. The relational assets approach merges the…

There is a consistent debate regarding the academic capabilities, career choices, and decision-making skills of African American male student-athlete (AAMSAs). Many studies highlight race as a direct threat to success and positive social influence at many colleges and universities. In the realm of race, prominent pieces of work (Cunningham &…

Background: Understanding how financial well-being changes through the life course of caregiving parents of children with developmental disabilities is critically important. Methods: We analyse SIPP (U.S. Census Bureau) data to describe income poverty, asset poverty, income, net worth, and liquid assets of US parents (N = 753) of children with…