Assessing assets in racially diverse, inner-city youths: Psychometric properties of the search institute asset questionnaire

Asset assessment of adolescents is becoming increasingly common in communities. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the "Profiles of Student Life," the most commonly used asset assessment questionnaire. In this study, 435 Midwestern, inner-city, primarily African-American (77%) students completed the instrument, with 288 completing it twice for stability reliability. Principal components analysis did not support construct validity of the categories as identified by the Search Institute. Both internal consistency and stability reliabilities were poor to mediocre for the various categories. The use of the Profiles of Student Life instrument may not be useful in community assessment with inner city, racially diverse populations.