Indicator: 3 - Youth With Caring Neighbors
Why This Is Important
Feeling cared for is a basic need, especially for young people.
Part of feeling respected is feeling cared for, and the ability to
recognize that others care is associated with the development of
compassion for others. Research on violence in communities has found
that “social cohesion among neighbors” is a significant predictor of
levels of violence in a community—the more cohesion, the less
violence. The bonding that can occur for a young person as a result
of feeling cared for and respected is a protective factor against
risky behavior.
Where We Stand
About three-quarters of a sample of Maine youth interviewed in
2000, 2001 and 2002 agreed or strongly agreed that “In my
neighborhood or town, there are a lot of people who care about me.”
Females were more likely to agree with the statement, and older
youths were less likely to agree with it in all three years.
Maine youth appear more likely to feel there are people in their
community who care about them than do youth nationally (see national
Search Institute data in the graph below right). This data is from
various data sets and is not from a nationally representative
sample, so it is not strictly comparable to the Maine youth data.
Data Sources and Context
The Maine Marks indicator
was shaped by the work of the Search Institute and their research
into developmental assets of young people. The developmental assets
framework is popular with many working in the field of youth
development. The data source for this indicator is a statewide
telephone survey of Maine youth in grades 9 - 12 done by Critical
Insights, a strategic marketing research firm in Portland, Maine. A
total of 403 telephone interviews with Maine youth were done in
November 2000; 402 more were interviewed in November 2001, and 400
in November 2002. The youth were asked the following: “Please tell
me how much you agree or disagree with the following statement: In
my neighborhood or town, there are a lot of people who care about
me.” Only the data in the “all” column is statistically
representative of youth statewide; the gender and grade level
breakdowns are only meant to be roughly descriptive of all young
people in Maine.
The national comparative data is from A Fragile
Foundation: The State of Developmental Assets Among American Youth,
Search Institute (1999).
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