Developmental assets and hedonic well-being among youths In the perspective of students’ characteristics

Abstract

This study examined the effect of gender and school types on
developmental assets and hedonic well-being, encompassing positive affect,
negative affect, and life satisfaction. The sample consisted of 614 randomly
selected students from private, public, rural, and urban secondary schools.
Data were collected using adapted items from life satisfaction, positive and
negative affect, and developmental asset profile scales. The analysis
employed Pearson correlation, two-way ANOVA, one-way ANCOVA, and
two-way MANOVA. The results indicated no significant correlation
between academic achievement and internal assets or life satisfaction.
However, the interaction and main effect of gender and school type on
internal asset experiences was significant. Additionally, the scores for
internal and external asset profile scores varied significantly as a function of
gender and private, public rural and public urban schools. The MANOVA
result further revealed significant differences in positive affect, negative
affect, and life satisfaction concerning gender and school type. It is
concluded that students in the rural context have significantly better
experience of internal and external asset profiles than students in private
and public urban schools. This suggests the need for a thorough
investigation of Context-based assets of rural areas, and their adaptation for
application in urban settings.