The Developmental Assets were fi rst introduced in the United States over 10 years ago, and have since received a great deal of attention from schools, school boards, and various youth, community, and ministry groups across the country. According to recent newspaper reports, over 10,000 schools and organizations have used Developmental Asset surveys and other resources, and there are over 500 community-based programs using the Developmental Assets in 45 states and 6 continentsi.
In addition to receiving attention in the United States, various international groups have shown an interest in the Developmental Assets. The Assets themselves have been translated into at least 14 languagesii, and long-term research projects have been conducted in the Philippines and Eastern European countries to translate both the Assets and various survey measurements into other languages in order to investigate the possibilities for the Developmental Assets in those countries. However, to date, there seems to have been no attempt to apply the Developmental Assets survey measurements into East Asian languages, although the Assets themselves have been translated into both Chinese and Japanese.
This report focuses on the DAP Survey (Developmental Asset Profi le), and considers its adaptation and use in Japan. First, it gives an overview of children in Japan, and explains the issues children face in their daily lives. Next, it explains in detail the implementation of the DAP survey in Japan, covering translation issues and implementation issues, and gives a preliminary
overview of the results of the Japanese-language DAP survey results taken from over 14,000 elementary, junior high and senior high school students. Finally, it considers the use of the data in the development of practical applications for use in Japan, and gives suggestions for future research.