Authors: Lafferty, Carolyn K.¹; Mahoney, Colleen A.¹; Thombs, Dennis L.²

Source: American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 27, Supplement 1, May 2003 , pp. S35-S44(10)

Publisher: PNG Publications

Abstract:

Objective: To identify characteristics that distinguish between school personnel who do and do not adopt asset-building behaviors in the formative stage of a countywide initiative. Methods: An anonymous questionnaire, assessing constructs from diffusion of innovation and social cognitive theories, was administered to 467 adult personnel in 3 school districts. Results: Discriminant analysis revealed that implementation of asset building was most closely related to rating the initiative high on trialability, relative advantage, compatibility, and observability and low on complexity. Conclusions: Efforts to implement asset-building initiatives need to assess perceptions of adult personnel and should not assume that positive youth development will be widely supported in schools.

Keywords: positive youth development; diffusion of innovation; social cognitive theory

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Mahoney Consulting Group, Wadsworth, OH. 2: Health Promotion, Kent State University, Kent, OH.

Publication date: 2003-05-01

More about this publication?

• The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.
  
  The Journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of personal attributes, personality characteristics, behavior patterns, social structure, and processes on health maintenance, health restoration, and health improvement; to disseminate knowledge of holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to designing and implementing effective health programs; and to showcase health behavior analysis skills that have been proven to affect health improvement and recovery.
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• In this Subject: Medicine (General) ,  Public Health ,  Psychology/Psychiatry
• By this author: Lafferty, Carolyn K. ;  Mahoney, Colleen A. ;  Thombs, Dennis L.

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