Amy Syvertsen - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Amy Syvertsen

LGBT health, Mar 1, 2023

Purpose:This study examines the prevalence of reported family physical abuse and the concurrent a... more Purpose:This study examines the prevalence of reported family physical abuse and the concurrent association between abuse and suicide attempts by adolescent gender identity.Methods:This study used the Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors dataset (N = 121,150 adolescents aged 11–19 [mean = 14.74, standard deviation = 1.78]) collected from 61 participating school districts and programs across the United States by Search Institute from 2012 to 2015. Multigroup logistic regression was used to examine the association between family abuse and suicide attempts by gender identity. Correlates included race/ethnicity, age, parent education, rurality, binge drinking, and tobacco use.Results:Results indicated that cisgender adolescents (i.e., participants who did not select a transgender identity) reported significantly less family abuse compared to gender minority adolescents. Family physical abuse was associated with higher odds of suicide attempts among all adolescents. The association was stronger for female adolescents compared to male adolescents but not significantly different across gender minority adolescents, including those who identify as transgender female to male, transgender male to female, and transgender without identifying or being unsure of their gender identity. The association between family physical abuse and suicide attempts was stronger among heterosexual female adolescents compared to sexual minority female, heterosexual male, sexual minority male, heterosexual gender minority, or sexual and gender minority adolescents.Conclusions:Findings highlight the importance of identifying and treating family abuse to prevent suicide attempts, particularly among gender and sexual minority adolescents.

Applied Developmental Science, May 23, 2019

Over five million young people have taken surveys, based on the Developmental Assets framework, a... more Over five million young people have taken surveys, based on the Developmental Assets framework, aimed at understanding the internal strengths and external supports they have in their lives. These data have been effectively used to mobilize schools and community coalitions around the world to integrate a positive youth development lens into their applied work. The purpose of this article is to subject these asset measures to rigorous confirmatory factor analysis and multiple group measurement invariance testing, and share them for broader use. The analyses yielded measures of eight asset categories (and 18 individual assets) that are robust and parsimonious. Substantial evidence emerged for the measurement invariance of these new assets measures across grades, gender identity, race/ ethnicity, sexual orientation, and parent education diversities. With the addition of these measures, applied developmental researchers and practitioners now have a more comprehensive and empirically robust measurement toolkit for studying and enhancing youth and their contexts in order to promote positive youth development.

Journal of Educational Psychology, Feb 1, 2009

The current study presented 1,933 adolescents from 13 schools with a scenario about a hypothetica... more The current study presented 1,933 adolescents from 13 schools with a scenario about a hypothetical peer's plan to "do something dangerous" at school and asked how likely they would be to respond with four different actions: intervene directly, tell a teacher or principal, discuss it with a friend but not an adult, and do nothing. High school students were less likely than those in middle school to say they would approach the peer directly or confide in a teacher or principal. Students were most likely to favor taking action on their own over all of the other response strategies. Students with positive perceptions of their schools were more likely to say they would do something rather than ignore their peer's dangerous intentions. These relationships were mediated by students' beliefs that confiding in a teacher may have unfavorable consequences. Findings from this study support the important role schools play in creating a culture where students take responsibility for one another.

Journal of Adolescent Research, Jul 27, 2016

The development of civically engaged citizens is vital for democratic societies. Although several... more The development of civically engaged citizens is vital for democratic societies. Although several studies have explored children and adolescents' conceptualizations of civic engagement, less is known about youths' understanding of the individual skills and attributes best suited for civic action. The current study utilized a Q-sort methodology to explore the types of character strengths children and adolescents (n = 87; M age = 13, 9-19, 52% female) assigned to people who engage in different types of civic activities. Participants sorted 12 character strengths (amazed, creative, forgiving, futureminded, generous, grateful, humble, joyful, leader, purposeful, responsible, and thrifty) into five categories ranging from "most like" to "least like" based on their perceptions of individuals engaged in four distinct civic activities: volunteering, voting, protesting, and engaging in environmental or conservation behaviors. Youth not only differentially applied certain character strengths to individuals engaged in distinct civic activities but also identified a set of character strengths (future-minded, leader, purposeful, and responsible) as core to multiple forms of civic engagement. Results provide new insights into youths' budding conceptualization of the individual characteristics, attributes,

Pediatrics, Oct 1, 2018

Our primary objective was to examine prevalence rates of suicide behavior across 6 gender identit... more Our primary objective was to examine prevalence rates of suicide behavior across 6 gender identity groups: female; male; transgender, male to female; transgender, female to male; transgender, not exclusively male or female; and questioning. Our secondary objective was to examine variability in the associations between key sociodemographic characteristics and suicide behavior across gender identity groups. METHODS: Data from the Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors survey (N = 120 617 adolescents; ages 11-19 years) were used to achieve our objectives. Data were collected over a 36-month period: June 2012 to May 2015. A dichotomized self-reported lifetime suicide attempts (never versus ever) measure was used. Prevalence statistics were compared across gender identity groups, as were the associations between sociodemographic characteristics (ie, age, parents' highest level of education, urbanicity, sexual orientation, and race and/or ethnicity) and suicide behavior. RESULTS: Nearly 14% of adolescents reported a previous suicide attempt; disparities by gender identity in suicide attempts were found. Female to male adolescents reported the highest rate of attempted suicide (50.8%), followed by adolescents who identified as not exclusively male or female (41.8%), male to female adolescents (29.9%), questioning adolescents (27.9%), female adolescents (17.6%), and male adolescents (9.8%). Identifying as nonheterosexual exacerbated the risk for all adolescents except for those who did not exclusively identify as male or female (ie, nonbinary). For transgender adolescents, no other sociodemographic characteristic was associated with suicide attempts. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide prevention efforts can be enhanced by attending to variability within transgender populations, particularly the heightened risk for female to male and nonbinary transgender adolescents.

The Journal of Positive Psychology, Jun 8, 2023

Half a dozen organizations and schools in different parts of the country recruited and hosted the... more Half a dozen organizations and schools in different parts of the country recruited and hosted the focus groups and facilitated the interviews needed to develop and refine survey measures. We promised these organizations anonymity for the research project, so we will not list them here. We appreciate their generosity of time, hospitality, and commitment to children, youth, and families. Perhaps most important, we deeply appreciate the youth, parenting adults, youth practitioners, educators, and community members who provided the keen and powerful insights that served as the foundation for the developmental relationships framework, and, subsequently, to the parenting adults who took the time to complete the survey that is the foundation of this report. Finally, we wish to thank the many leaders and collaborators who work in education, youth development, and family support who are allies with us in focusing energy on cultivating the relationships that nurture key character strengths and well-being in children and youth. In the end, our frameworks and studies have value and impact through your work. We hope you find this report and the related projects we will launch in the months and years ahead both interesting and useful.

American Journal of Community Psychology, Jul 2, 2021

The number of young people living in the margins of society reflects one of the most pressing soc... more The number of young people living in the margins of society reflects one of the most pressing social inequities of our time. Opportunity youth often face many complex challenges perpetrated by a range of systemic issues. These trajectories can be positively disrupted by surrounding youth with a cohesive web of relational and instrumental supports and spaces where their strengths and potential are seen. Opportunity Reboot, a technical assistance and program enhancement model, was developed to leverage the existing capacity and strengths of community programs to more effectively create pathways to school, career, and life success for opportunity youth. The impact of Opportunity Reboot was tested using a single‐group, non‐experimental design and a quasi‐experimental design with propensity score matching. Findings established associations between opportunity youths’ experiences of three core Opportunity Reboot features and growth in select positive identity, social–emotional competencies, and skills for systems navigation outcomes. Opportunity Reboot youth were also more likely, on average, than comparison youth to be employed in the four quarters after endline data collection; this finding was even stronger when comparing youth of color in the Opportunity Reboot and comparison groups. This evaluation strengthens the evidence that program enhancement models like Opportunity Reboot hold promise for positively disrupting the lives of opportunity youth.

Applied Developmental Science, Nov 6, 2019

Parents promote character development in many ways: by cultivating a supportive relationship, mod... more Parents promote character development in many ways: by cultivating a supportive relationship, modeling the strengths they hope to cultivate, and through the ideas they communicate to their children. Given the need for developmentally sensitive assessments of contexts that facilitate character development, this study examined the role of a family civic context by examining associations between psychological needs support, parental modeling, and communication and character across elementary-, middle-, and high school ages. Using a diverse, cross-sectional sample of 2,467 youth ages 9-19, bifactor models were estimated across age groups to examine age differences in associations between parenting practices and character. Psychological needs support and communication predicted global character across age groups. At older ages, parenting practices evidenced greater specificity in promoting character strengths. Results provide insights into the distinct ways parenting strategies are associated with the development of general and specific character strengths and how these associations vary with age. Conceptualizing character Although there is no single agreed-upon definition of character, character is generally considered to be a composition of psychological strengths (Berkowitz, 2012; Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Many have attempted to articulate the strengths that comprise the meta-construct of character, and empirical studies demonstrate considerable heterogeneity in the dimensions

Child Development

To advance knowledge of critical consciousness development, this study examined age‐related chang... more To advance knowledge of critical consciousness development, this study examined age‐related change in awareness of inequality by race and ethnicity, gender, parent education, generation status, and their interactions. With longitudinal data (2013–2017) from 5019 adolescents in grades 6–12 (55.0% female) from California, Minnesota, and West Virginia, multigroup second‐order latent growth curves were estimated for Black (13.7%), Latinx (37.0%), Asian (8.1%), and white (41.3%) youth. Black, Latinx, and Asian adolescents increased awareness of inequality longitudinally; white youth showed no change. Multiracial youth accelerated awareness of inequality in mid‐adolescence; changes in race and ethnicity predicted decline, followed by increases. Girls with more educated, immigrant‐origin parents started out more aware of inequality. Results signal the need for race‐specific and intersectional approaches to studying critical consciousness development.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2022

There are fewer evidence-based social and emotional learning programs for middle school students ... more There are fewer evidence-based social and emotional learning programs for middle school students compared to younger grades. This randomized controlled trial tests the effectiveness of Facing History and Ourselves (hereafter, Facing History) with a sample of 694 (Facing History n = 437; Comparison n = 257) students from a low-resourced school district. Youth self-identified as female (59%), Black/African American (61%), Hispanic/Latinx (18%), White (2%), and multi-racial or some other race/ethnicity (19%). Intervention students perceived their classrooms as more caring and democratic than students in the comparison group. They reported higher levels of empathy, prosocial behavior, and stronger participatory citizenship beliefs. This study expands the evidence-based of effective SEL programs available to schools.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2022

Adolescents' awareness of societal inequality has been linked to higher civic engagement. Thi... more Adolescents' awareness of societal inequality has been linked to higher civic engagement. This study expands prior research by testing whether awareness of inequality differentially motivates prosocial and political forms of civic engagement, whether adults' modeling of civic agency moderates links between awareness of inequality and civic engagement, and whether associations differ by race/ethnicity. Longitudinal data came from 3208 youth (Mage = 14.1, Range = 7-20, 56.1% female, 39.7% White, 38.4% Latinx, 12.3% Black, and 6.9% Asian). Across racial/ethnic groups, awareness of societal inequality predicted increased political behaviors and beliefs 2 years later. Adults' modeling of civic agency predicted certain forms of civic engagement but did not moderate links. The findings advance theory and research on the motivating role of awareness of inequality for political beliefs and actions.

Character strengths are an integral component of positive youth development that can promote flou... more Character strengths are an integral component of positive youth development that can promote flourishing. Developmental principles posit constructs become increasingly complex with age, yet this process has not been examined with character. Using a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of 2,467 youth ages 9-19, bifactor models were estimated across elementary, middle, and high school-age groups to examine age differences in character structure and function. With successive age, a greater number of specific character strength factors were identified, suggesting character structure becomes more differentiated across adolescence. Results linking character bifactor models to indicators of positive functioning also supported differentiation in character function across ages. Findings point to the need for theoretical and empirical considerations of character structure and function across development. STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHARACTER 3 Examining Character Structure and Fun...

Despite recognition that youth civic engagement is multidimensional, different modeling approache... more Despite recognition that youth civic engagement is multidimensional, different modeling approaches are rarely compared or tested for measurement invariance. Using a diverse sample of 2,467 elementary, middle, and high school-aged youth, we measured eight dimensions of civic engagement: social responsibility values, informal helping, political beliefs, civic skills, environmental behavior, volunteering, voting intentions, and news consumption. We compared correlated unidimensional factors, higher-order factor, and bifactor models and tested for measurement invariance and latent mean differences by age. The correlated unidimensional factors model best fit the data, yet higher-order and bifactor models fit adequately. Metric and scalar invariance was found across models. Latent means varied depending on the dimension of civic engagement and the multidimensional model examined. Findings favor the correlated unidimensional factors model; implications of each model are discussed. This stu...

Applied Developmental Science, 2021

Students’ relationships with their teachers are a form of social capital (i.e., relational social... more Students’ relationships with their teachers are a form of social capital (i.e., relational social capital; RSC). Latent transition analysis (LTA) was used to investigate longitudinal patterns of RS...

Psychology in the Schools, 2020

We examined how middle‐school students’ motivation, belonging, school climate, and grade point av... more We examined how middle‐school students’ motivation, belonging, school climate, and grade point average (GPA) are affected by students experiencing developmental relationships—those that go beyond teachers being caring (e.g., showing warmth to students) and providing challenge (e.g., high expectations) to also include teachers providing support, sharing power, and expanding students’ sense of possibilities. We also examined variations in those associations by student socioeconomic status (SES). The study included 534 diverse Grades 6–8 students (51% female, 46% non‐White, 33% eligible for free and reduced price meals). Structural equation modeling and regressions showed that students with better developmental relationships with their teachers had better outcomes. Developmental relationships strongly predicted academic motivation at both the beginning and end of the school year, and also directly predicted students’ sense of belonging and school climate. Relationships indirectly predi...

Applied Developmental Science, 2019

Over five million young people have taken surveys, based on the Developmental Assets framework, a... more Over five million young people have taken surveys, based on the Developmental Assets framework, aimed at understanding the internal strengths and external supports they have in their lives. These data have been effectively used to mobilize schools and community coalitions around the world to integrate a positive youth development lens into their applied work. The purpose of this article is to subject these asset measures to rigorous confirmatory factor analysis and multiple group measurement invariance testing, and share them for broader use. The analyses yielded measures of eight asset categories (and 18 individual assets) that are robust and parsimonious. Substantial evidence emerged for the measurement invariance of these new assets measures across grades, gender identity, race/ ethnicity, sexual orientation, and parent education diversities. With the addition of these measures, applied developmental researchers and practitioners now have a more comprehensive and empirically robust measurement toolkit for studying and enhancing youth and their contexts in order to promote positive youth development.

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 2018

Leaders in education and youth development expend considerable effort identifying and testing pro... more Leaders in education and youth development expend considerable effort identifying and testing programs and strategies to improve outcomes for young people from marginalized communities. Yet too few efforts yield measurable progress. Li and Julian (2012) argued that an underappreciated factor in the success and failure of interventions is the degree to which they promote "developmental relationships." This article describes a multi-year, multi-method effort by Search Institute to operationalize and test that hypothesis that has involved operationalizing a framework of developmental relationships, examining how those relationships are built in diverse contexts and their association with positive attitudes, skills, and behaviors among young people, particularly those from marginalized communities. It concludes by describing the next phase of this initiative, which involves using an improvement science approach to co-create strategies for strengthening developmental relationships in partnership with youth-serving organizations in multiple sectors.

LGBT health, Mar 1, 2023

Purpose:This study examines the prevalence of reported family physical abuse and the concurrent a... more Purpose:This study examines the prevalence of reported family physical abuse and the concurrent association between abuse and suicide attempts by adolescent gender identity.Methods:This study used the Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors dataset (N = 121,150 adolescents aged 11–19 [mean = 14.74, standard deviation = 1.78]) collected from 61 participating school districts and programs across the United States by Search Institute from 2012 to 2015. Multigroup logistic regression was used to examine the association between family abuse and suicide attempts by gender identity. Correlates included race/ethnicity, age, parent education, rurality, binge drinking, and tobacco use.Results:Results indicated that cisgender adolescents (i.e., participants who did not select a transgender identity) reported significantly less family abuse compared to gender minority adolescents. Family physical abuse was associated with higher odds of suicide attempts among all adolescents. The association was stronger for female adolescents compared to male adolescents but not significantly different across gender minority adolescents, including those who identify as transgender female to male, transgender male to female, and transgender without identifying or being unsure of their gender identity. The association between family physical abuse and suicide attempts was stronger among heterosexual female adolescents compared to sexual minority female, heterosexual male, sexual minority male, heterosexual gender minority, or sexual and gender minority adolescents.Conclusions:Findings highlight the importance of identifying and treating family abuse to prevent suicide attempts, particularly among gender and sexual minority adolescents.

Applied Developmental Science, May 23, 2019

Over five million young people have taken surveys, based on the Developmental Assets framework, a... more Over five million young people have taken surveys, based on the Developmental Assets framework, aimed at understanding the internal strengths and external supports they have in their lives. These data have been effectively used to mobilize schools and community coalitions around the world to integrate a positive youth development lens into their applied work. The purpose of this article is to subject these asset measures to rigorous confirmatory factor analysis and multiple group measurement invariance testing, and share them for broader use. The analyses yielded measures of eight asset categories (and 18 individual assets) that are robust and parsimonious. Substantial evidence emerged for the measurement invariance of these new assets measures across grades, gender identity, race/ ethnicity, sexual orientation, and parent education diversities. With the addition of these measures, applied developmental researchers and practitioners now have a more comprehensive and empirically robust measurement toolkit for studying and enhancing youth and their contexts in order to promote positive youth development.

Journal of Educational Psychology, Feb 1, 2009

The current study presented 1,933 adolescents from 13 schools with a scenario about a hypothetica... more The current study presented 1,933 adolescents from 13 schools with a scenario about a hypothetical peer's plan to "do something dangerous" at school and asked how likely they would be to respond with four different actions: intervene directly, tell a teacher or principal, discuss it with a friend but not an adult, and do nothing. High school students were less likely than those in middle school to say they would approach the peer directly or confide in a teacher or principal. Students were most likely to favor taking action on their own over all of the other response strategies. Students with positive perceptions of their schools were more likely to say they would do something rather than ignore their peer's dangerous intentions. These relationships were mediated by students' beliefs that confiding in a teacher may have unfavorable consequences. Findings from this study support the important role schools play in creating a culture where students take responsibility for one another.

Journal of Adolescent Research, Jul 27, 2016

The development of civically engaged citizens is vital for democratic societies. Although several... more The development of civically engaged citizens is vital for democratic societies. Although several studies have explored children and adolescents' conceptualizations of civic engagement, less is known about youths' understanding of the individual skills and attributes best suited for civic action. The current study utilized a Q-sort methodology to explore the types of character strengths children and adolescents (n = 87; M age = 13, 9-19, 52% female) assigned to people who engage in different types of civic activities. Participants sorted 12 character strengths (amazed, creative, forgiving, futureminded, generous, grateful, humble, joyful, leader, purposeful, responsible, and thrifty) into five categories ranging from "most like" to "least like" based on their perceptions of individuals engaged in four distinct civic activities: volunteering, voting, protesting, and engaging in environmental or conservation behaviors. Youth not only differentially applied certain character strengths to individuals engaged in distinct civic activities but also identified a set of character strengths (future-minded, leader, purposeful, and responsible) as core to multiple forms of civic engagement. Results provide new insights into youths' budding conceptualization of the individual characteristics, attributes,

Pediatrics, Oct 1, 2018

Our primary objective was to examine prevalence rates of suicide behavior across 6 gender identit... more Our primary objective was to examine prevalence rates of suicide behavior across 6 gender identity groups: female; male; transgender, male to female; transgender, female to male; transgender, not exclusively male or female; and questioning. Our secondary objective was to examine variability in the associations between key sociodemographic characteristics and suicide behavior across gender identity groups. METHODS: Data from the Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors survey (N = 120 617 adolescents; ages 11-19 years) were used to achieve our objectives. Data were collected over a 36-month period: June 2012 to May 2015. A dichotomized self-reported lifetime suicide attempts (never versus ever) measure was used. Prevalence statistics were compared across gender identity groups, as were the associations between sociodemographic characteristics (ie, age, parents' highest level of education, urbanicity, sexual orientation, and race and/or ethnicity) and suicide behavior. RESULTS: Nearly 14% of adolescents reported a previous suicide attempt; disparities by gender identity in suicide attempts were found. Female to male adolescents reported the highest rate of attempted suicide (50.8%), followed by adolescents who identified as not exclusively male or female (41.8%), male to female adolescents (29.9%), questioning adolescents (27.9%), female adolescents (17.6%), and male adolescents (9.8%). Identifying as nonheterosexual exacerbated the risk for all adolescents except for those who did not exclusively identify as male or female (ie, nonbinary). For transgender adolescents, no other sociodemographic characteristic was associated with suicide attempts. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide prevention efforts can be enhanced by attending to variability within transgender populations, particularly the heightened risk for female to male and nonbinary transgender adolescents.

The Journal of Positive Psychology, Jun 8, 2023

Half a dozen organizations and schools in different parts of the country recruited and hosted the... more Half a dozen organizations and schools in different parts of the country recruited and hosted the focus groups and facilitated the interviews needed to develop and refine survey measures. We promised these organizations anonymity for the research project, so we will not list them here. We appreciate their generosity of time, hospitality, and commitment to children, youth, and families. Perhaps most important, we deeply appreciate the youth, parenting adults, youth practitioners, educators, and community members who provided the keen and powerful insights that served as the foundation for the developmental relationships framework, and, subsequently, to the parenting adults who took the time to complete the survey that is the foundation of this report. Finally, we wish to thank the many leaders and collaborators who work in education, youth development, and family support who are allies with us in focusing energy on cultivating the relationships that nurture key character strengths and well-being in children and youth. In the end, our frameworks and studies have value and impact through your work. We hope you find this report and the related projects we will launch in the months and years ahead both interesting and useful.

American Journal of Community Psychology, Jul 2, 2021

The number of young people living in the margins of society reflects one of the most pressing soc... more The number of young people living in the margins of society reflects one of the most pressing social inequities of our time. Opportunity youth often face many complex challenges perpetrated by a range of systemic issues. These trajectories can be positively disrupted by surrounding youth with a cohesive web of relational and instrumental supports and spaces where their strengths and potential are seen. Opportunity Reboot, a technical assistance and program enhancement model, was developed to leverage the existing capacity and strengths of community programs to more effectively create pathways to school, career, and life success for opportunity youth. The impact of Opportunity Reboot was tested using a single‐group, non‐experimental design and a quasi‐experimental design with propensity score matching. Findings established associations between opportunity youths’ experiences of three core Opportunity Reboot features and growth in select positive identity, social–emotional competencies, and skills for systems navigation outcomes. Opportunity Reboot youth were also more likely, on average, than comparison youth to be employed in the four quarters after endline data collection; this finding was even stronger when comparing youth of color in the Opportunity Reboot and comparison groups. This evaluation strengthens the evidence that program enhancement models like Opportunity Reboot hold promise for positively disrupting the lives of opportunity youth.

Applied Developmental Science, Nov 6, 2019

Parents promote character development in many ways: by cultivating a supportive relationship, mod... more Parents promote character development in many ways: by cultivating a supportive relationship, modeling the strengths they hope to cultivate, and through the ideas they communicate to their children. Given the need for developmentally sensitive assessments of contexts that facilitate character development, this study examined the role of a family civic context by examining associations between psychological needs support, parental modeling, and communication and character across elementary-, middle-, and high school ages. Using a diverse, cross-sectional sample of 2,467 youth ages 9-19, bifactor models were estimated across age groups to examine age differences in associations between parenting practices and character. Psychological needs support and communication predicted global character across age groups. At older ages, parenting practices evidenced greater specificity in promoting character strengths. Results provide insights into the distinct ways parenting strategies are associated with the development of general and specific character strengths and how these associations vary with age. Conceptualizing character Although there is no single agreed-upon definition of character, character is generally considered to be a composition of psychological strengths (Berkowitz, 2012; Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Many have attempted to articulate the strengths that comprise the meta-construct of character, and empirical studies demonstrate considerable heterogeneity in the dimensions

Child Development

To advance knowledge of critical consciousness development, this study examined age‐related chang... more To advance knowledge of critical consciousness development, this study examined age‐related change in awareness of inequality by race and ethnicity, gender, parent education, generation status, and their interactions. With longitudinal data (2013–2017) from 5019 adolescents in grades 6–12 (55.0% female) from California, Minnesota, and West Virginia, multigroup second‐order latent growth curves were estimated for Black (13.7%), Latinx (37.0%), Asian (8.1%), and white (41.3%) youth. Black, Latinx, and Asian adolescents increased awareness of inequality longitudinally; white youth showed no change. Multiracial youth accelerated awareness of inequality in mid‐adolescence; changes in race and ethnicity predicted decline, followed by increases. Girls with more educated, immigrant‐origin parents started out more aware of inequality. Results signal the need for race‐specific and intersectional approaches to studying critical consciousness development.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2022

There are fewer evidence-based social and emotional learning programs for middle school students ... more There are fewer evidence-based social and emotional learning programs for middle school students compared to younger grades. This randomized controlled trial tests the effectiveness of Facing History and Ourselves (hereafter, Facing History) with a sample of 694 (Facing History n = 437; Comparison n = 257) students from a low-resourced school district. Youth self-identified as female (59%), Black/African American (61%), Hispanic/Latinx (18%), White (2%), and multi-racial or some other race/ethnicity (19%). Intervention students perceived their classrooms as more caring and democratic than students in the comparison group. They reported higher levels of empathy, prosocial behavior, and stronger participatory citizenship beliefs. This study expands the evidence-based of effective SEL programs available to schools.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2022

Adolescents' awareness of societal inequality has been linked to higher civic engagement. Thi... more Adolescents' awareness of societal inequality has been linked to higher civic engagement. This study expands prior research by testing whether awareness of inequality differentially motivates prosocial and political forms of civic engagement, whether adults' modeling of civic agency moderates links between awareness of inequality and civic engagement, and whether associations differ by race/ethnicity. Longitudinal data came from 3208 youth (Mage = 14.1, Range = 7-20, 56.1% female, 39.7% White, 38.4% Latinx, 12.3% Black, and 6.9% Asian). Across racial/ethnic groups, awareness of societal inequality predicted increased political behaviors and beliefs 2 years later. Adults' modeling of civic agency predicted certain forms of civic engagement but did not moderate links. The findings advance theory and research on the motivating role of awareness of inequality for political beliefs and actions.

Character strengths are an integral component of positive youth development that can promote flou... more Character strengths are an integral component of positive youth development that can promote flourishing. Developmental principles posit constructs become increasingly complex with age, yet this process has not been examined with character. Using a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of 2,467 youth ages 9-19, bifactor models were estimated across elementary, middle, and high school-age groups to examine age differences in character structure and function. With successive age, a greater number of specific character strength factors were identified, suggesting character structure becomes more differentiated across adolescence. Results linking character bifactor models to indicators of positive functioning also supported differentiation in character function across ages. Findings point to the need for theoretical and empirical considerations of character structure and function across development. STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHARACTER 3 Examining Character Structure and Fun...

Despite recognition that youth civic engagement is multidimensional, different modeling approache... more Despite recognition that youth civic engagement is multidimensional, different modeling approaches are rarely compared or tested for measurement invariance. Using a diverse sample of 2,467 elementary, middle, and high school-aged youth, we measured eight dimensions of civic engagement: social responsibility values, informal helping, political beliefs, civic skills, environmental behavior, volunteering, voting intentions, and news consumption. We compared correlated unidimensional factors, higher-order factor, and bifactor models and tested for measurement invariance and latent mean differences by age. The correlated unidimensional factors model best fit the data, yet higher-order and bifactor models fit adequately. Metric and scalar invariance was found across models. Latent means varied depending on the dimension of civic engagement and the multidimensional model examined. Findings favor the correlated unidimensional factors model; implications of each model are discussed. This stu...

Applied Developmental Science, 2021

Students’ relationships with their teachers are a form of social capital (i.e., relational social... more Students’ relationships with their teachers are a form of social capital (i.e., relational social capital; RSC). Latent transition analysis (LTA) was used to investigate longitudinal patterns of RS...

Psychology in the Schools, 2020

We examined how middle‐school students’ motivation, belonging, school climate, and grade point av... more We examined how middle‐school students’ motivation, belonging, school climate, and grade point average (GPA) are affected by students experiencing developmental relationships—those that go beyond teachers being caring (e.g., showing warmth to students) and providing challenge (e.g., high expectations) to also include teachers providing support, sharing power, and expanding students’ sense of possibilities. We also examined variations in those associations by student socioeconomic status (SES). The study included 534 diverse Grades 6–8 students (51% female, 46% non‐White, 33% eligible for free and reduced price meals). Structural equation modeling and regressions showed that students with better developmental relationships with their teachers had better outcomes. Developmental relationships strongly predicted academic motivation at both the beginning and end of the school year, and also directly predicted students’ sense of belonging and school climate. Relationships indirectly predi...

Applied Developmental Science, 2019

Over five million young people have taken surveys, based on the Developmental Assets framework, a... more Over five million young people have taken surveys, based on the Developmental Assets framework, aimed at understanding the internal strengths and external supports they have in their lives. These data have been effectively used to mobilize schools and community coalitions around the world to integrate a positive youth development lens into their applied work. The purpose of this article is to subject these asset measures to rigorous confirmatory factor analysis and multiple group measurement invariance testing, and share them for broader use. The analyses yielded measures of eight asset categories (and 18 individual assets) that are robust and parsimonious. Substantial evidence emerged for the measurement invariance of these new assets measures across grades, gender identity, race/ ethnicity, sexual orientation, and parent education diversities. With the addition of these measures, applied developmental researchers and practitioners now have a more comprehensive and empirically robust measurement toolkit for studying and enhancing youth and their contexts in order to promote positive youth development.

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 2018

Leaders in education and youth development expend considerable effort identifying and testing pro... more Leaders in education and youth development expend considerable effort identifying and testing programs and strategies to improve outcomes for young people from marginalized communities. Yet too few efforts yield measurable progress. Li and Julian (2012) argued that an underappreciated factor in the success and failure of interventions is the degree to which they promote "developmental relationships." This article describes a multi-year, multi-method effort by Search Institute to operationalize and test that hypothesis that has involved operationalizing a framework of developmental relationships, examining how those relationships are built in diverse contexts and their association with positive attitudes, skills, and behaviors among young people, particularly those from marginalized communities. It concludes by describing the next phase of this initiative, which involves using an improvement science approach to co-create strategies for strengthening developmental relationships in partnership with youth-serving organizations in multiple sectors.