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KMID : 0904520050180010047
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Health and Medical Sociology
2005 Volume.18 No. 1 p.47 ~ p.72
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Developmental Assets among Korean Youth
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Lee Myoung-Soon
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Abstract
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The relationship between health and quality of life is reciprocal: health problems influence quality of life and at the same time quality of life affects health. Approaches to effectively prevent youth health risk behaviors should be comprehensive: they should not only meet with youths’ health needs, but they should also seek to improve the quality of life of youth. This study examined various aspects of Korean youths’ lives based on the forty developmental assets framework, which was introduced as building blocks for healthy child & adolescent development by Benson and his colleagues. The forty developmental assets include external factors such as social environments-support, empowerment, boundaries and expectation, and constructive use of time. Internal factors include personal qualities of a child or adolescent-social competencies, positive values, positive identity, and commitment to learning. Applying the developmental assets framework to Korean youth, we administered a survey questionnaire to 3,739 ninth grade students across eight schools in two cities in Korea. Overall, the Korean youth surveyed had low levels of assets and only 8 assets were reported by more than half of the youth in the survey. External assets were reported at lower levels than internal assets. Most assets in the category of empowerment were reported at much lower levels by both female and male students. Female students were more likely to report all of the social competencies’ assets and had a higher level of assets than male students. In conclusion, to promote the healthy development of Korean youth, more comprehensive and youth-based approaches should be implemented at the multi-level of family, schools, and community by all sectors within Korean Society.
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KEYWORD
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Korean Youth, Developmental Assets, Youth Health, Quality of Life, Health Risk Behaviors
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