Source: http://www.search-institute.org/research/assets/assetpower.html
The Power of Assets
On one level, the 40 developmental assets represent everyday wisdom about positive experiences and characteristics for young people. In addition, Search Institute research has found that these assets are powerful influences on adolescent behavior-both protecting young people from many different problem behaviors and promoting positive attitudes and behaviors. This power is evident across all cultural and socioeconomic groups of youth. There is also
evidence from other research that assets have the same kind of power for younger children.
Yet, while the assets are powerful shapers of young people's lives and choices, too few young people experience enough of these assets. The average young person surveyed experiences only 18 of the 40 assets. Overall, 62 percent of young people surveyed experience fewer than 20 of the assets. In short, most young people in the United States do not have in their lives many of the basic building blocks of healthy development.
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 these charts show.
| 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% |
| Succeeds in School | 8% | 17% | 30% | 47% |
Source: http://www.search-institute.org/research/assets/assetlevels.html
Levels of Assets among Young People
While the assets are powerful shapers of young people's lives and choices, too few young people experience many of these assets, based on surveys of over 217,000 6th- to 12th-grade youth in 318 communities and 33 states during the 1999-2000 school year.
Average Number of Assets by Grade and Gender
The average young person surveyed experiences only 19.3 of the 40 assets. In general, older youth have lower average levels of assets than younger youth. And boys experience fewer assets than girls.
Total Sample 19.3
Grade
6th 23.1
7th 21.1
8th 19.6
9th 18.3
10th 17.8
11th 18.1
12th 18.3
Gender
Female 20.7
Male 17.8
The Gap in Assets Among Youth
While there is no "magic number" of assets young people should have, our data indicate that 31 is a worthy, though challenging, benchmark for experiencing their positive effects most strongly. Yet, as this chart shows, only 9 percent of youth have 31 or more assets. More than half have 20 or fewer assets.
Total Sample
0-10 Assets 15%
11-20 Assets 41%
21-30 Assets 35%
31-40 Assets 9%