Character in childhood and early adolescence: models and measurement

Jun, Wang; Hilliard, Lacey J.; Hershberg, Rachel M.; Bowers, Edmond P.; Chase, Paul A.; Champine, Robey B.; Buckingham, Mary H.; Braun, Dylan A.; Gelgoot, Erin S.; Lerner, Richard M.

doi:10.1080/03057240.2015.1040381

Cited by 24 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…We used both quantitative and qualitative measures during the first wave of testing. To identify what features of character youth have at their entry into the Cub Scout program, and if these attributes differed from those of youth not participating in Cub Scouts, we administered the Assessment of Character in Children and Early Adolescents (ACCEA) measure (Wang, et al, 2014) to Scouts and non-Scouts. Qualitative measures included the QUE semi-structured interview protocol and the open-ended questions on the pack leader short-answer questionnaire.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Assessment of Character in Childhood and Early Adolescence (ACCEA). As part of the CAMP project, we developed the ACCEA (Wang, et al, 2014) to assess seven character attributes derived from the Boy Scout Oath (obedience -operationalized as rule-following; reverence -operationalized as religiosity; cheerfulness; kindness; thriftiness; trustworthiness; and helpfulness) and one attribute (hopeful future expectations), associated with the PYD literature (Schmid, & Lopez, 2011). A study of the character strengths of a large sample of U.S. adults (McGrath, 2014), using the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (Peterson, & Seligman, 2004), found that Future Orientation is a key character attribute which is characterized by a positive outlook, hopefulness, and an interest in healthy living.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The response scale for each item in ACCEA was 1 to 5, where 1 indicated "Not at all like me" and 5 indicated "Exactly like me. " Wang, et al (2014) also studied Cub Scouts from the COL and, specifically, assessed the factorial structure of the ACCEA. They found a first-order model consisting of eight correlated factors, a second-order model consisting of one superordinate character factor and eight first-order factors, and a bifactor model consisting of one general character factor and eight specific character attributes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Quantitative data were used exclusively to answer our first research question: What features of character do youth possess at their entry into the Cub Scout program, and do these attributes differ from those of youth who are not participating in Cub Scouts? We specifically conducted analyses of baseline quantitative data collected from Scouts and non-Scouts using the ACCEA measure (Wang, et al, 2014 Analysis Plan for Quantitative Youth Data. We present a comparison of ACCEA scores for the Scout and the non-Scout participants.…”

Section: Plan Of Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Program Innovations and Character in Cub Scouts: Findings from Year 1 of a Mixed-Methods, Longitudinal Study

Hilliard

Hershberg

Jun

et al. 2014

JYD

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Youth development programs seek to promote positive development through mentoring and engaging youth in opportunities for individual growth and community connectedness. We present findings from the initial phase of a mixed-methods, longitudinal study aimed at assessing the impact of one such program, Cub Scouts, on character development. We assessed if Scouting, and a recent innovation in Scouting focused on program quality, are associated with the development of character and other positive youth outcomes. Participants were 1,083 Scouts and non-Scouts, aged 5-12 years. At the start of the study, there was no difference in indicators of character between Scouts and non-Scouts, once matched through propensity score analyses. Through content analyses of interviews and short-answer questionnaires administered to leaders, we found that leaders' views of character and of their roles corresponded to those envisioned by Cub Scouts. Implications for character development, and for the role of program components in character development, are discussed.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plan Of Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Program Innovations and Character in Cub Scouts: Findings from Year 1 of a Mixed-Methods, Longitudinal Study

Hilliard

Hershberg

Jun

et al. 2014

JYD

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“…Wang et al. () tested various character structures in a sample of children and early adolescents and ultimately excluded a one‐factor model, yet their one‐factor model showed high factor loadings across the majority of character items, supporting the idea of an underlying dimension of character. Furthermore, while correlation tables are strikingly absent from nearly all measurement research on character, available evidence demonstrates correlations as high as .98 among character strengths (e.g., Corral‐Verdugo, Tapia‐Fonllem, & Ortiz‐Valdez, ).…”

Section: Conceptualizing Charactermentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining Character Structure and Function Across Childhood and Adolescence

et al. 2018

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Character strengths are an integral component of positive youth development that can promote flourishing. Developmental principles posit constructs become increasingly complex with age, yet this process has not been examined with character. Using a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of 2,467 youth ages 9-19, bifactor models were estimated across elementary, middle, and high school-age groups to examine age differences in character structure and function. With successive age, a greater number of specific character strength factors were identified, suggesting character structure becomes more differentiated across adolescence. Results linking character bifactor models to indicators of positive functioning also supported differentiation in character function across ages. Findings point to the need for theoretical and empirical considerations of character structure and function across development.

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Character Development within Youth Development Programs: Exploring Multiple Dimensions of Activity Involvement

Lynch

Ferris

Burkhard

et al. 2016

American J of Comm Psychol

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We examined links among three dimensions of youth involvement (intensity, duration, and engagement) in Boy Scouts of America (BSA), an international out-ofschool time (OST) youth development program designed to promote moral and performance character in boys. Using data from 737 youth and their parents who participated in one of 40 BSA program sites (commonly referred to as "packs"), we first considered how individual-and packlevel measures of program involvement were differentially linked with character development. Next, we examined whether pack-level involvement characteristics moderate individual-level involvement characteristics, hypothesizing that highly involved packs would serve to further enhance the positive effects of high levels of individual involvement. Results indicated engagement was the strongest, most frequent predictor of increases in both moral and performance character. Although there were no direct effects of pack-level intensity, duration, or engagement, the effects of individual-level engagement were moderated by pack-level engagement, suggesting that the largest increases in moral and performance character occurred among highly engaged youth who were enrolled in highly engaged packs. These results highlight the need to examine multiple dimensions of OST program involvement simultaneously, and suggest that strengthening youth engagement in programming may provide a means for enhancing the positive effects of high-quality youth programming.

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Character in childhood and early adolescence: models and measurement

Cited by 24 publications

References 38 publications

Program Innovations and Character in Cub Scouts: Findings from Year 1 of a Mixed-Methods, Longitudinal Study

Program Innovations and Character in Cub Scouts: Findings from Year 1 of a Mixed-Methods, Longitudinal Study

Examining Character Structure and Function Across Childhood and Adolescence

Character Development within Youth Development Programs: Exploring Multiple Dimensions of Activity Involvement

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