Indicator: 78 - 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
Similar to findings in the past, 58% of youth surveyed in 2004 “agreed” or “strongly
agreed” with the statement “Adults in my town or city care about people my age.” There
are no differences by gender or grade level on this indicator.
Data Sources and Context
This Maine Marks indicator is adapted from the work of the Search Institute ( www.search-institute.org ) and their research into developmental assets of young people. The developmental assets framework is popular with many who work in the field of youth development. The data source for this indicator is a statewide telephone survey of youth grades 9-12 conducted 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 in November 2001, 400 in November 2002, and 400 in December 2004. Due to inadequate funding, no interviews were conducted in 2003.
The youth were asked the following: “Do 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 in grades 9-12. The other grade level information provided is a rough estimate developed with weighted data using the attendance reports from the Maine State Department of Education. An average of the proportion of students in each secondary grade level was found over the past five years. This average proportion was applied to weight these 2004 survey results. Therefore this information is primarily descriptive and should not be used to make inferences about all youth in these grade levels in Maine.
