Research done by the Search Institute with over 2 million young people since 1989 shows how assets powerfully affect young people in three ways:

• Building assets prevents negative behaviors.
• Building assets promotes positive behaviors.
• Assets help young people bounce back from hard times.

Prevents Negative Behaviors: The more assets young people have, the more likely they will grow up to be caring, competent, responsible young people. Young people with more assets are the less likely they are to engage in negative behaviors, such as abusing alcohol, threatening physical harm, hitting someone, using marijuana and shoplifting. Youth with 0-10 assets engage in more risky behaviors (9.3), such as shoplifting or using drugs when compared with youth with 31-40 assets (who identified 1.1 behaviors they engaged in) . For example, for young people with 10 or fewer assets, 59% reported using alcohol, whereas, only 6% of the youth with 31-40 assets reported using alcohol. In addition, while 59% of young people with 10 or fewer assets threatened to hurt someone, only 7% of young people with 31 to 40 assets did this—a difference of 52%.

Promotes Positive Behaviors: Simply put, the more assets a young person has the more positive behaviors they exhibit. Search Institute identified eight thriving behaviors, which include: succeeding in school, helping others, maintaining good health, exhibiting leadership, resisting danger, delaying gratification, and overcoming adversity. The research showed that the more assets a young person had, the more they acted in these positive ways. For example, 26% of youth with 10 or fewer assets pay attention to healthy nutrition and exercise, while 89% of youth with 31-40 assets do.

Bouncing Back from Adversity: Lastly, building on findings from the field of resiliency, Search Institute found that the number of assets a young person has affects how they respond to and maneuver through difficult situations. The fewer assets a youth has the more likely they are to participate in negative behavior to cope with difficult times. Young people who have 31-40 assets are more likely to bounce back from difficult situations and are more likely to bounce back more quickly.

How many assets does the average youth have?
Ideally, all young people would experience 31-41 assets. The average young person in Santa Clara Valley has 18.8 assets, according to a survey conducted by Project Cornerstone in 2004, and only 8% of our youth have 31-40 assets. The number of assets tends to be higher for 6th graders, while there is a steady decline throughout high school. Boys generally have fewer assets than girls (boys average 16.5 assets versus 19.5 for girls).