DevelopmentalAssets, Academic Achievement and Risky Behaviors Among Albanians in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia

The effectiveness of internal cohesion psychotherapy in treating young clients with depression and anxiety disorders: The role of developmental assets in Kosovo context

“…In addition to reporting significant positive experiences with Internal Cohesion Psychotherapy, our findings further contribute to and support existing evidence about the importance of developmental assets in optimal emotional and mental well-being (i.e., Adams et al, 2019;Uka et al, 2021;Wiium et al, 2021). In line with the goals of ICP theory and practices , significant positive changes were reported in clients' intra-and interpersonal systems, which in turn showed positive effects on other systems as well (professional and spiritual ones).…”

“…More specifically, clients highlighted observable positive changes in their self-esteem, self-regulation skills, and motivation, adding that these changes were reflected firmly in their relationships with family members, peers, and colleagues in their workplace. Similar to these findings, other studies have shown positive significant relations between perceived and exemplified levels of motivation and resilience (Benson et al, 2011;Manrique-Millones et al, 2021;Uka et al, 2021). On the other hand, improved interpersonal relations were the main highlighted outcome from the participants' point of view, while better intra-and interpersonal relationships and emotional regulation, as well as improved communication approaches, were linked to social competencies as internal and family as external Positive Youth Development Assets (Benson et al, 2011;Ismail et al, 2015;Manrique-Millones et al, 2021).…”

“…Evidence-based intervention programs have been inspired by the positive results of developmental assets, which are negatively related to risky behaviors, sadness, and suicide attempts and can serve as protective factors for substance use disorders and mental health (Dimitrova et al, 2018;Adams et al, 2019; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2021; Uka et al, 2021;Wiium et al, 2021). Furthermore, it is shown that the external assets are negatively correlated with depression, anxiety, and social dysfunction (Ismail et al, 2015), whereas the internal developmental assets are shown to be a better predictor of social, emotional, and psychological well-being than the external assets (Manrique-Millones, 2021).…”

Social-emotional classroom climate and academic achievement for Chinese elementary students: The roles of convergent and divergent thinking

“…The development assets model provides theoretical support for the mediating role of creative thinking (Steinmayr et al, 2017; Uka et al, 2021). It presents 40 developmental assets for teenagers, which involve 20 kinds of external assets and 20 kinds of internal assets (Benson et al, 2006).…”

“…Creativity is acknowledged as an essential skill for contemporary children, and it is increasingly becoming important in education and for economic growth (Ros & Nicholl, 2013). Research showed that external assets (environmental resources) were positively related to teenagers’ behaviors, whereas internal assets (personal strengths) were positively associated to academic achievement (Uka et al, 2021). The development assets model connects the characteristics of ecological environment with individual skills (Benson et al, 2006).…”