Indicator: 77 - Youth Who Feel Cared For in Their Community
Why This Is Important
Bonding to the community is a significant protective factor for
young people, helping them to avoid risky behavior. Communities
that keep children at the heart of all decisions can demonstrate
to young people that adults in their community care for people their
age.
Where We Stand
Slightly more than half of the high school age youth surveyed in
2000 and 2001 "agreed" or "strongly agreed"
with the following statement: "Adults in my town or city care
about people my age." In both years, the percentage agreeing
with this statement tended to be lower for older students in the
sample; for example, 61% of freshmen agreed or strongly agreed in
the 2001 survey, compared with 46% of seniors.
Data Sources and Context
The development of this indicator was influenced by the work of
the Search Institute and their research into developmental assets
of young people. The developmental asset 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
aged 13 to 19 done by Critical Insights, a strategic marking research
firm in Portland, Maine. Only the "all" column data represents
youth statewide; the breakdowns by gender and grade level are not
representative and are provided only for description of the sample.
A total of 403 telephone interviews with Maine youth were done in
November 2000; 402 more were interviewed in November 2001.
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