Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Five Cs Model of Positive Youth Development: A Longitudinal Analysis of Confirmatory Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The understanding of positive development across adolescence rests on having a valid and equivalent measure of this construct across the breadth of this period of life. Does the Positive Youth Development (PYD) construct based on the Five Cs model have satisfactory psychometric properties for such longitudinal measurement invariance? Using longitudinal data derived from the 4-H Study of PYD, we assessed 920 youth (61.6% female) from a racially and ethically diverse sample (67.3% European American) who participated in three waves (Grades 8–10) of data collection. Building on prior findings that the Five Cs (i.e., Competence, Confidence, Connection, Character, and Caring) model of PYD was a robust measure that could be assessed comparably during early adolescence, we tested a hierarchy of second-order confirmatory factor analysis models to assess the extent to which PYD can be measured equivalently across middle adolescence. Evidence was found for strict measurement invariance across three measurement occasions, including equivalence of first-order and second-order factor loadings, equality of intercepts of observed variables, and equality of item uniqueness and disturbances of the first-order factors. These results suggest that PYD can be measured in the same way across measurement occasions, a prerequisite for the study of development. Implications for research and application of being able to measure PYD equivalently across adolescence are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Armsden, G., & Greenberg, M. (1987). The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 427–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (1997). Young people’s conceptions of the transition to adulthood’. Youth and Society, 29(1), 3–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benson, P. L., Leffert, N., Scales, P. C., & Blyth, D. A. (1998). Beyond the “village” rhetoric: Creating healthy communities for children and adolescents. Applied Developmental Science, 2, 138–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, B. M. (1995). Strategies in testing for an invariant second-order factor structure: A comparison of EQS and LISREL. Structural Equation Modeling, 2, 53–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, B. M., & Campbell, T. L. (1999). Cross-cultural comparisons and the presumption of equivalent measurement and theoretical structure: A look beneath the surface. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 30, 555–574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, F. F., Sousa, K. H., & West, S. G. (2005). Testing measurement invariance of second-order factor models. Structural Equation Modeling, 12(3), 471–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(2), 233–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, L. M., Schafer, J. L., & Kam, C. M. (2001). A comparison of inclusive and restrictive strategies in modern missing data procedures. Psychological Methods, 6, 330–351.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Damon, W. (2004). What is positive youth development? Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591, 13–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidisciplinary approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 113–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeYoung, C. G., Peterson, J. B., & Higgins, D. M. (2002). Higher-order factors of the big five predict conformity: Are there neuroses of health? Personality and Individual Differences, 33(4), 533–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dukakis, K., London, R. A., McLaughlin, M., & Williamson, D. (2009). Positive youth development: Individual, setting and system level indicators. (Issue brief: Positive youth development indicators). Stanford, CA: John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J., & Gootman, J. (Eds.). (2002). Community programs to promote youth development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Murphy, B. C., Karbon, M., Smith, M., & Maszk, P. (1996). The relations of children’s dispositional empathy-related responding to their emotionality, regulation, and social functioning. Developmental Psychology, 32, 195–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. Oxford, England: Norton & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error: Algebra and statistics. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(3), 382–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freud, A. (1969). Adolescence as a developmental disturbance. In G. Caplan & S. Lebovici (Eds.), Adolescence (pp. 5–10). New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, G. S. (1904). Adolescence: Its psychology and its relations to physiology, anthropology, sociology, sex, crime, religion, and education (Vols. 1 & 2). New York: Appleton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S. (1988). Manual for the self-perception profile for adolescents. Denver, CO: University of Denver.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S. (1998). The development of self-representations. In W. Damon & N. Eisenberg (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (5th ed., pp. 1097–1149). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S. (1999). The construction of self: A developmental perspective. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heck, K. E., & Subramaniam, A. (2009). Youth development Frameworks. [Monograph]. Davis, CA: 4-H Center for Youth Development, University of California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2002). The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire: A compact scale for the measurement of psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 33(7), 1071–1082.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeličić, H., Bobek, D., Phelps, E., Lerner, J. V., & Lerner, R. M. (2007). Using positive youth development to predict contribution and risk behaviors in early adolescence: Findings from the first two waves of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 31(3), 263–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, P. E., Dowling, E. M., Mueller, R. A., White, K., Schultz, W., Osborn, P., et al. (2005). Thriving in adolescence: The voices of youth-serving practitioners, parents, and early and late adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(1), 94–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, R. M. (2004). Liberty: Thriving and civic engagement among American youth. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., Almerigi, J., Theokas, C., Phelps, E., Gestsdottir, S., et al. (2005). Positive youth development, participation in community youth development programs, and community contributions of fifth grade adolescents: Findings from the first wave of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(1), 17–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, J. V., Phelps, E., Forman, Y., & Bowers, E. P. (2009). Positive youth development. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology: Vol 1. Individual bases of adolescent development (3rd ed., pp. 524–558). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., Gerlach, E., Trautwein, U., Ludtke, O., & Brettschneider, W. D. (2007). Longitudinal study of preadolescent sport self-concept and performance: Reciprocal effects and causal ordering. Child Development, 78(6), 1640–1656.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, K. A., Lippman, L., & Brown, B. (2004). Indicators of child well-being: The promise for positive youth development. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Special Issue: Positive Development: Realizing the Potential of Youth, 591, 125–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, N. (2004). The role of subjective well-being in positive youth development. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591, 25–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phelps, E., Balsano, A. B., Fay, K., Peltz, J. S., Zimmerman, S. M., Lerner, R. M., et al. (2007). Nuances in early developmental trajectories of positive and problematic/risk behaviors: Findings from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 16, 473–496.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phelps, E., & Colby, A. (2002). Introduction. In E. Phelps, R. R. Furstenberg, & A. Colby (Eds.), Looking at lives: American longitudinal studies of the twentieth century (pp. 3–14). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phelps, E., Zimmerman, S., Warren, A. A., Jeličić, H., von Eye, A., & Lerner, R. M. (2009). The structure and developmental course of positive youth development (PYD) in early adolescence: Implications for theory and practice. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30(5), 571–584.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pittman, K., Irby, M., & Ferber, T. (2001). Unfinished business: Further reflections on a decade of promoting youth development. In Public/Private Ventures (Ed.), Youth development: Issues, challenges, and directions (pp. 17–64). Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roth, J. L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2003). What exactly is a youth development program? Answers from research and practice. Applied Developmental Science, 7, 94–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benson P. L., Scales, P. C, Hamilton, S. F., & Sesma, A. (2006). Positive youth development: Theory, research, and applications. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.). Theoretical models of human development. Volume 1 of Handbook of Child Psychology (6th edn). Editors-in-chief: W. Damon & R. M. Lerner. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

  • Schmitt, N., & Kulijanin, G. (2008). Measurement invariance: Review of practice and implications. Human Resource Management Review, 18, 210–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shapka, J. D., & Keating, D. P. (2005). Structure and change in self-concept during adolescence. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 37(2), 83–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Small, S. A., & Rodgers, K. B. (1995). Teen assessment project (TAP) survey question bank. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Madison.

    Google Scholar 

  • Susman, E. J., & Dorn, L. D. (2009). Puberty: Its role in development. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology: Vol 1. Individual bases of adolescent development (3rd ed., pp. 116–151). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Theokas, C., Almerigi, J. B., Lerner, R. M., Dowling, E. M., Benson, P. L., Scales, P. C., et al. (2005). Conceptualizing and modeling individual and ecological asset components of thriving in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(1), 113–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandenberg, R. J., & Lance, C. E. (2000). A review and synthesis of the measurement invariance literature: Suggestions, practices, and recommendations for organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 3(1), 4–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werner, H. (1957). The concept of development from a comparative and organismic point of view. In D. Harris (Ed.), The concept of development: An issue in the study of human behavior (pp. 125–148). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wylie, R. C. (1979). The self-concept: Vol II. Theory and research on selected topics. Rev. edn.. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zarrett, N., Peltz, J. S., Fay, K., Li, Y., Lerner, R. M., & Lerner, J. V. (2007). Sports and youth development programs: Theoretical and practical implications of early adolescent participation in multiple instances of structured out-of-school (OST) activity. Journal of Youth Development, 2(1), 7–20.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University, 307 Lincoln-Filene Building, Medford, MA, 02155, USA

    Edmond P. Bowers, Yibing Li, Megan K. Kiely, Aerika Brittian & Richard M. Lerner

  2. Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

    Jacqueline V. Lerner

Authors
  1. Edmond P. Bowers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yibing Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Megan K. Kiely
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Aerika Brittian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jacqueline V. Lerner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Richard M. Lerner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Edmond P. Bowers.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bowers, E.P., Li, Y., Kiely, M.K. et al. The Five Cs Model of Positive Youth Development: A Longitudinal Analysis of Confirmatory Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance. J Youth Adolescence 39, 720–735 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9530-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9530-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation