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Development Topics
Raising Successful Kids
What's So Powerful About the Assets?
Protecting
Youth from High-Risk Behaviors
Assets have tremendous
power to protect youth from many different harmful or unhealthy choices. To
illustrate this power, these charts show that youth with the most assets are
least likely to engage in four different patterns of high-risk behavior, based
on surveys of over 217,000 6th- to 12th-grade youth in 318 communities and 33
states during the 1999-2000 school year.
| |
0-10 Assets |
11-20 Assets
|
21-30 Assets |
31-40 Assets |
| Problem Alcohol
Use |
49% |
27% |
11% |
3% |
| Violence |
61% |
38% |
19% |
7% |
| Illicit Drug
Use |
39% |
18% |
6% |
1% |
| Sexual Activity |
32% |
21% |
11% |
3% |
The same kind of
impact is evident with many other problem behaviors, including tobacco use,
depression and attempted suicide, antisocial behavior, school problems, driving
and alcohol, and gambling.
Promoting Positive Attitudes and Behaviors
In addition to protecting youth from negative behaviors, having more assets
increases the chances that young people will have positive attitudes and behaviors,
as this chart shows.
| |
0-10 Assets |
11-20 Assets |
21-30 Assets
|
31-40 Assets |
| Exhibits Leadership |
50% |
65% |
77% |
85% |
| Maintains
Good Health |
26% |
47% |
69% |
89% |
| Values Diversity
|
36% |
57% |
74% |
88% |
| Mostly A grades
in school |
8% |
17% |
30% |
47% |
— David Bunker
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