At the core of the CONNECTIONS initiative are 40 Developmental Assets™. In the early 1990s, Search Institute identified this collection of experiences, qualities, and opportunities that affect a child’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual growth.

The 40 assets themselves are not revolutionary or complicated. They simply make sense. They’re practical. And they apply to all kids—not just children at risk, kids from affluent families, or kids living in poverty. They’re also powerful. Extensive research shows that the more assets young people have, no matter what their background or socioeconomic level, the more likely they’ll be self-confident and do well in school; the less likely they’ll engage in dangerous or detrimental behavior.

External	Internal
Young people need to be surrounded by people who love, care for, appreciate and accept them.	Young people need a sense of the lasting importance of learning and a belief in their own abilities.
Young people need to feel valued and valuable. This happens when youth feel safe and respected.	Young people need to develop strong guiding values or principles to help them make healthy life choices.
Young people need clear rules, consistent consequences for breaking rules and encouragement to do their best.	Young people need the skills to interact effectively with others, to make difficult decisions and to cope with new situations.
Young people need opportunities -- outside of school -- to learn and develop new skills and interests with other youth and adults.	Young people need to believe in their own self worth and to feel they have control over the things that happen to them.

This PowerPoint presentation illustrates the asset framework:

List of Developmental Assets

40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents (ages 12–18) (View)

In Spanish: Elementos fundamentales del desarrollo (PDF)

French: 40 Acquis dont les jeunes ont besoin pour réussir  (PDF)

40 Developmental Assets for Middle Childhood (ages 8–12) (View)

In Spanish: 40 Elementos Fundamentales del Desarrollo para la pre-adolescencia (edades de 8 a 12)

40 Developmental Assets for Early Childhood (ages 3–5) (View)
In Spanish: 40 Elementos Fundamentales del Desarrollo para niños pre-escolares (edades de 3 a 5) (PDF)

Other Translations of 40 Developmental Assets

Many communities have taken the time to translate the 40 Developmental Assets list into their primary languages. Although these translations have not been formally approved or reviewed for accuracy by Search Institute, we believe they have potential benefit for others.

Alcholi (PDF)
Arabic (PDF)
Armenian (PDF)
Bulgarian (PDF)
Chinese (PDF)
Farsi (PDF)
Hmong (PDF)
Japanese (PDF)
Khmer (PDF)
Nuer (PDF)
Russian (Word Document)
Somali (PDF)
Vietnamese (PDF)