Building Developmental Assets to Empower Adolescent Girls in Rural Bangladesh Evaluation of Project Kishoree Kontha
Coimbra, Joao Carlos; Pinto, Iraja Damiani; Wurdig, Norma Luiza; Do Carmo, Dermeval Aparecido
Journal of Research on Adolescence 23(1): 171-184
2013
ISSN/ISBN: 1050-8392 DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-7795.2012.00805.xDocument Number: 571687
Kishoree Kontha ( Adolescent Girls' Voices ) was implemented in Bangladeshi villages to build the developmental assets (e.g., support from others, social competencies) of rural girls through peer education in social skills, literacy, and school learning. The Developmental Assets Profile (DAP) measured the project's impact on ecological and individual assets. Analysis of two cohorts involving more than 600 intervention and 400 control adolescents (Mage = 13.5) showed a significant increase in project girls' developmental assets, with an average effect size, net of contamination and control group scores, of .80. The results suggest the Project's effectiveness in improving human and social capital for vulnerable adolescent girls living in rural Bangladesh villages, and the utility of the DAP as a cross-culturally relevant measurement tool.