Do Family Assets Mediate the Relationship Between Community Assets and Youths' Perceived Spirituality?

The past decade has witnessed increased scholarly attention to relations between youths' spirituality and positive youth development (PYD), with research showing a link between the two constructs (Benson, Roehlkepartain, & Scales, 2010; James, Fine, & Turner, 2012; Kim & Esquivel, 2011; Warren, Lerner, & Phelps, 2012). Although there is growing empirical support for correlations between youths' spirituality and PYD, little extant research has investigated the specific contexts that nurture youths' spiritual growth. In this article, we describe how we took a three-step approach to address this issue.To begin, and because of its emphasis on person [Lef-right arrow] environment interactions, we use a relational developmental systems theoretical (RDST; Overton, 2013) approach to investigate the dynamic interaction between the family and community contexts that undergird youths' spirituality. Next, we articulate how spirituality is conceptualized in this study. Finally, we review how youth interactions with their family and community can potentially nurture their spiritual growth. Understanding how contextual factors influence youths' spirituality has important implications for policy, practice, and, potentially, PYD.THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: RELATIONAL DEVELOPMENTAL SYSTEMS THEORYMuch of the contemporary theory in the developmental sciences falls under the auspices of RDST (Overton, 2013). RDST emphasizes that the course of development is regulated by bidirectional relations between the developing person and the multilevel (e.g., family, community, peer, school) environment in which he or she is embedded. In addition, RDST highlights the continual dynamic internal (e.g., cognitive, biological, emotional) and external (e.g., family, community, school) interactions that regulate adaptation and development (Overton, 2013). A promise of this theory, for practitioners, is the core component that posits the plasticity of development (i.e., intra-individual development can be strengthened or altered through person [Lef-right arrow] environment interactions).RDST provides the framework from which the theory of PYD (Lerner et al., 2005) derives. PYD theory asserts that when youth develop certain assets (i.e., competence, confidence, character, connection, caring; also referred to as the "5 Cs of PYD"), they tend to adapt well to their environment or thrive. Scholars argue that the way to nurture the development of the 5 Cs is through youths' positive and sustained interactions with caring adults in their community (Lerner, 2007).PYD-focused research has impelled scholars to examine other factors that may help youth thrive, in particular their spirituality (James et al., 2012; Warren et al., 2012). Although those studies empirically validate a link between PYD and youths' spiritualty, the field still lacks empirical work that examines the sources of its development. Before examining the etiology of spirituality, it is important to first conceptualize the construct.SPIRITUALITY: DEFINING A MOVING TARGETIn this study we examined spirituality as a construct distinct from religiosity. Other studies have supported the notion that the two constructs are related but different (e.g., Dowling et al., 2004), in particular that they are distinct in their specific role in youths' positive development.We used a tripartite approach (James & Fine, 2015) to defining spirituality because it encompasses two common ways scholars have conceptualized the concept in the youth development literature (i.e., personal, relational). First, individual notions of spirituality commonly involve some intrapsychic processes whereby the individual develops a sense of transcendence or meaning in life (Kim & Esquivel, 2011; Shek, 2012). Furthermore, this process is advanced by, or contextualized in, a personal relationship with a deity. Through that process the individual orients his or her life in a way that it becomes a motivating force for how he or she interacts in the social world. …