Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 35(4) 510–523 © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0739986313499006 hjb.sagepub.com Article Developmental Assets and Ethnic Identity as Predictors of Thriving in Hispanic Adolescents Melissa Alvarado 1 and Richard J. Ricard 2 Abstract This study examined the confluence of developmental assets, ethnic identity, and acculturative stress in the prediction of thriving among Hispanic adolescents. Thriving is used to encompass youth who are not only doing well now but who are also on the trajectory toward overall success. Study participants included 130 self-reported Hispanic middle and high school students participating in a leadership program specifically geared toward at- risk students. The results indicated that ethnic identity and developmental assets positively predict adolescent thriving. As expected, the correlations between developmental assets scores (context and category) and composite thriving were all significant and positive. Specifically, internal assets and ethnic identity were the main predictors of thriving according to regression analysis. Implications for professionals working with Hispanic youth are discussed. Keywords developmental assets, positive youth development, thriving, Hispanic adolescents 1 University of Texas at Brownsville, USA 2 Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, USA Corresponding Author: Melissa Alvarado, Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies, University of Texas at Brownsville, One West University Boulevard, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA. Email: Melissa.alvarado@utb.edu 499006HJB 35 4 10.1177/0739986313499006Hispanic Journal of Behavioral SciencesAlvarado and Ricard research-article 2013 at KANSAS STATE UNIV LIBRARIES on October 15, 2015 hjb.sagepub.com Downloaded from