Reducing risks and building developmental assets: essential actions for promoting adolescent health.

Developmental assets provide the positive building blocks young people need for success. In this article, based on a keynote address to attendees at the 1998 American School Health Association annual conference, research is discussed that suggests building specific developmental assets relates to lowered risk behavior patterns and increased patterns of thriving behavior among an aggregate sample of nearly 100,000, 6th-12th grade youth in 213 US communities. Issues related to the scientific foundations, reliability, and validity of the development assets framework are discussed. The contribution that building youth's developmental assets makes toward their well-being is presented as both a unique component of a healthy community and a necessary complement to risk reduction and treatment strategies.