STRATFORD

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2005 PROFILE OF YOUTH
STRATFORD Presented By RYASAP 2470 Fairfield
Avenue Bridgeport, CT 06605 In cooperation
with The Search Institute Minneapolis, MN
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2005 PROFILE OF YOUTH OVERVIEW

• 554 Youth Surveyed, a 15 sample of youth
  Grades 7-12
• in Stratford
• Participating School Districts Bridgeport,
  Fairfield, Monroe,
• Stratford and Trumbull
• Racial/Ethnic Breakdown
• 60 White
• 16 African American
• 11 Latino
• 11 Multi-Racial
• 3 Asian
• 0 Native American

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HIGHLIGHTS TOWN OF STRATFORD

• Average number of assets decreased slightly from
  19.0 in 2001 to 18.5 in 2005.
• The number of developmental assets increased
  for students in grades 10, 11 and
• 12 while they decreased in grades 7 9. The
  highest number of assets were
• shown by 7th grade students (22.2)
• All forms of substance use except inhalant use
  (5) decreased from 2001 to 10
• 2005. Alcohol use is down 15 since 1998
  young people who smoke daily is
• down since 1998 and marijuana use is down 7
  since 1998.
• All forms of violent behavior (hit someone,
  physically hurt someone, used a
• weapon, been in a group fight, carried a weapon
  for protection and threatening
• physical harm all increased slightly from 2001
  to 2005 but not to the higher levels
• of 1998. Teen gambling increased by 4

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HIGHLIGHTS

• 16 of 40 developmental assets either increased
  or remained the same with major
• increases in Creative Activities (9), Time
  at Home with family (9), demon-
• strating Restraint (5) and Reading for
  Pleasure (5). Major decreases in
• developmental assets were Homework (- 9),
  Positive Adult Relationships (- 6),
• Bonding to School (- 6), and Cultural
  Competence (- 6).

• Most Thriving Indicators increased or remained
  strong such as Helping Others
• (78), Overcoming Adversity (73 -- 4),
  Exhibiting Leadership (70 -- 6),
• and Maintains Good Health (56 -- 3)
• Some Thriving Indicators demonstrated concern
  such as Values Diversity (58, but
• an 8 decrease over 2001), and Resists Danger
  (26)

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DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS EXTERNAL ASSETS Positive
experiences and support a young person receives
from formal and informal connections to the
community

• SUPPORT
• Family support
• Positive family
• communication
• 3. Other adult relationships
• 4. Caring neighborhood
• 5. Caring school climate
• 6. Parent involvement in
• schooling
• EMPOWERMENT
• Community values youth
• Youth utilized as resources
• Service to others
• Safety youth feels safe

BOUNDARIES AND EXPECTATIONS
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DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS INTERNAL ASSETS Things a
community and family nurture within youth so
they can contribute to their own development
COMMITMENT TO LEARNING 1. Achievement
motivation 2. School engagement 3. Homework
(1 hour/night) 4. Bonding to school 5.
Reading for pleasure POSITIVE VALUES 1.
Caring and helping 2. Equality and social
justice 3. Integrity 4. Honesty 5.
Responsibility 6. Restraint
SOCIAL COMPETENCIES 1. Planning and
decision-making 2. Interpersonal competence 3.
Cultural competence 4. Resistance skills 5.
Peaceful conflict resolution POSITIVE
IDENTITY 1. Personal power 2.
Self-esteem 3. Sense of purpose 4. Positive
view of personal future
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SETTINGS FOR POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

• Physical and psychological
• safety and security
• Developmentally appropriate
• structure, clear expectations,
• and opportunities to take part
• in leadership roles
• Emotional and moral support
• Opportunities to experience
• supportive adult relationships
• Opportunities to learn how to
• form close, durable relation-
• ships with peers that support
• healthy behaviors

• Opportunities to feel a sense of
• belonging
• Opportunities to develop positive
• social values and norms
• Opportunities for skill-building
• and mastery
• Opportunities to develop self-
• confidence in ones abilities to
• master ones environment
• Opportunities to make a contrib-
• ution to ones community and
• develop a sense of mattering
• Strong links between families,
• schools, peers and broader
• community resources

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ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT ASSETS

• Individuals do not need the entire range of
  assets to thrive.
• Combinations of assets across domains reflect
  equally
• positive adolescent development.
• Having more assets is better than having a few.
  Having strong
• assets in one category can offset weak assets
  in another.
• However, life is easier to manage if one has
  assets in all domains
• Continued exposure to positive experiences,
  settings and people,
• as well as opportunities to gain and refine
  life skills, supports
• young people in the acquisition and growth of
  these assets

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INCREASED ASSETS 1998-2001
STRATFORD
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ASSETS BY GRADE LEVEL 1998-2005
STRATFORD
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SUBSTANCE USE/ABUSE BEHAVIOR 1998-2005

• Used alcohol once in the last 30 days from 44
  in 1998 to 33 in
• 2001 to 29 in 2005
• Got drunk once or more in the last two weeks
  from 24 to 17 to 15
• Smoked cigarettes in the last 30 days from 29
  to 21 to 13
• or smokes daily from 17 to 12 to 7
• Sniffed inhalants in the last 12 months from 15
  to 8 to 13
• Used marijuana in the last 12 months 27 to 24
  to 20
• Drove after drinking or rode with someone who
  has been drinking
• 3 or more times in the last 12 months from
  22 to 17 to 15
• Except for marijuana use (Boys 25 Girls 16)
  there are no gender
• differences in substance using behavior
• Substance using behavior increases through the
  grade levels

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CHANGES IN RISK-TAKING BEHAVIOR 1998-2005

• Sexual intercourse (ever) from 34 in 98 to 27
  in 01 to 28 in 05
• Has been involved in 3 or more incidents of
  shoplifting, trouble with
• the police or vandalism in the last 12 months
  from 28 to 22 to
• 25
• Violent behavior in the last 12 months
• - Hit someone from 42 to 40 to 42
• - Physically hurt someone from 21 to 14 to 15
• - Used a weapon from 6 to 3 to 5
• - Been in a group fight from 28 to 25 to 28
• - Carried a weapon for protection from 16 to
  12 to 17
• - Threatened physical harm from 39 to 34 to
  33
• School truancy from 31 to 18 to 24
• Gambling from 44 to 29 to 34
• Depression from 17 to 15 to 18
• Attempted suicide from 18 to 15 to 13

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YOUTH REPORTING HIGH RISK BEHAVIOR
PATTERNS 1998-2005
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YOUTH REPORTING PREDICTIVE DEFICITS Those
behaviors that make young people most at-risk of
future problems
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CHANGES IN DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS 1998-2005 EXTERNA
L ASSETS

• Highlights
• Support
• Family Support remains very strong with 67 of
  young people seeing
• their families as their primary source of
  support.
• Only 29 of youth see their schools as caring
  environments.
• Only 28 of young people see their parents as
  being involved in helping
• them with homework, taking an interest in
  their schooling or attending
• school events.
• Empowerment
• Over 90 of young people feel safe in their
  homes, schools or community
• most of the time.
• Only 21 of young people feel the community
  values them and only 25
• believe they are utilized as resources by
  their families, schools or
• community.

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EXTERNAL ASSETS Cont.

• Boundaries and Rules
• 73 of young people feel their family rules are
  clear however, only 52
• believe there are clear consequences for
  breaking the rules.
• 82 of young people feel that rules in school
  are clear however, 67 feel
• there are clear consequences for breaking the
  rules.
• 86 of young people feel that their parents have
  high expectations for them
• to succeed in school while 57 feel their
  teachers also have high
• expectations for them.
• Only 27 of young people feel they have adequate
  adult role models
• Constructive Use of Time
• 57 of youth are involved in youth programs at
  school or in the community
• There has been a 5 reduction (From 62 to 57)
  of young people
• participating in formal religious activity.
• There has been a major increase in young people
  participating in creative
• activities

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SUPPORT
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EMPOWERMENT
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BOUNDARIES AND RULES
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CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF TIME
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CHANGES IN DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS 1998-2005 INTERNAL
ASSETS

• Highlights
• Commitment to Learning
• 69 of young people are committed to succeed in
  school
• However, only 54 of young people feel engaged
  with their schools
• with 74 sometimes or usually coming to school
  without their
• homework finished 48 without their books
  and 39 without
• paper or something to write on.
• 50 (A 6 reduction from 2001) feel bonded or
  care about the
• the school they attend.
• Positive Values
• Positive values of Integrity (69), Honesty
  (59), Responsibility
• (59) and Social Justice (44) remained high
  but all decreased
• slightly from 2001.

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INTERNAL ASSETS 1998 2005 HIGHLIGHTS
CONTINUED

• Social Competencies
• Although there was a slight reduction in
  Cultural Competence 67 of young
• people strongly respect the values of beliefs
  of those different from feel
• themselves 54 enjoy being with people
  different from themselves and
• 43 they know about cultural differences.
• Only 34 of young people would try to resolve a
  physical conflict with say
• another student peacefully (talk to the
  student or a teacher) --- The other
• 66 they would fight back or hurt them worse
  than they were hurt.
• Only 41 of young people feel they have the
  resistance skills to
• say no when asked to do something wrong or
  dangerous.
• Positive Identity
• 73 of young people have a very positive view of
  their future
• 51 have high self esteem and 58 have a strong
  sense of purpose
• with boys scoring much higher than girls on
  both assets
• 73 of young people feel they are resilient
  (capable of overcoming adversity)

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COMMITMENT TO LEARNING
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POSITIVE VALUES
25
SOCIAL COMPETENCIES
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POSITIVE IDENTITY
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STRONGEST DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS

• Positive View of Personal Future 73
• Integrity 69
• Achievement Motivation 69
• Family Support 67
• Positive Peer Influence 64
• Honesty 62
• Responsibility 59
• Sense of Purpose 58
• Religious Community 57
• Youth Programs 57

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WEAKEST DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS

• Community Values Youth 21
• Reading for Pleasure 23
• Youth Utilized as Resources 25
• Positive Adult Role Models 27
• Creative Activities 26
• Parent Involvement in Schooling 28
• Caring School Climate 29
• Planning and Decision Making 30

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THRIVING INDICATORS Those assets that
predict future thriving behaviors
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REASONS FOR CHANGES A Move Toward Community
Building
There are both positive and negative indicators
that contribute toward the Changes from 2001 to
2005 in developmental assets and risky behaviors.
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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Continuation and expansion of community building
  and strength-based
• approaches of working with young people and
  families with specific
• emphasis on
• a. Character Education
• b. Service Learning
• c. Utilizing youth as resources
• School suspension and expulsion policies such as
  zero tolerance and
• academic policies such as Leave No Child Behind
  need to be examined
• for their effect on reducing young peoples
  commitment and bonding to
• to school and their feelings about schools as
  uncaring places.
• Parent, educator and student awareness needs to
  be raised to develop
• clear consequences for breaking the rules.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Stratford should seek to replicate the very
  successful GAMES teen
• gambling prevention program being implemented in
  the Monroe
• secondary schools.
• Peaceful conflict resolution programs and
  mediation programs need to
• be implemented or expanded so as to reduce the
  number of violent
• responses to settling disputes among young
  people.
• Gang awareness and prevention programs should be
  implemented in
• Stratford secondary schools.
• Youth/Adult teams should be developed to educate
  other youth and
• adults in the community about young peoples
  assets and strengths as
• well as their needs.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Gender specific programs such as RYASAPs Finding
  Her Voice need
• to be developed in Stratford to strengthen young
  females sense of
• personal power and self esteem.
• Stratfords commitment to cultural competence and
  understanding of
• the importance of working with people different
  from themselves needs
• to be continued and strengthened.