POSITIVE INDICATORS

• Available Measures - measures used in the papers and presentations at the Indicators of Positive Development Conference, Washington, DC, 2003.
• Psychometric Characteristics of Measures - evaluates the reliability and validity of measures.
• What Do Children Need to Flourish?  Conceptualizing and Measuring Indicators of Positive Development (Moore & Lippman, May 2005) - a collection of papers commissioned for the Indicators of Positive Development Conference. 

Our Work

• Cognitive Interviewing and Focus Groups - In the Fall of 2004, Child Trends staff will be conducting focus groups and cognitive interviews with youth throughout the Washington, D.C. area. Focus groups and cognitive interviews will be conducted with small samples of youth to test the applicability of existing measures of positive youth well-being to racially and economically diverse populations.  These groups and interviews will also be used to learn what youth think is important to measure.
• Additional Constructs - Child Trends staff will work with scholars to develop measures of positive development that were not available at the time of the conference. Initial topics may include measures of mental flourishing, purpose, thrift, gratitude, and spirituality. Papers will be written to present and evaluate the measures.
• Synthesis Report - Child Trends staff will develop a report synthesizing the knowledge gained from the conference as well as from cognitive testing of the survey items, focus groups, and the developmental work on additional constructs.
• Dissemination of Measures - As measures are developed and refined, Child Trends will add them to this site, whenever possible. In addition, the measures will be presented in various venues so that child and youth survey and program staff can learn about them and can begin using them in surveys and program evaluations.