Changes in External Developmental Assets Across Adolescence in Low‐Income Urban Youth

ABSTRACT This study investigated longitudinal changes in external developmental assets (EDA)—support, empowerment, boundaries & expectations across ecological and interpersonal contexts of family, peers, school, and neighborhood—among predominantly Black, low‐income urban adolescents. A birth cohort of 367 adolescents (47% male) was assessed at ages 12, 15, and 17 using the External Assets scale of the Developmental Assets Profile. Mixed‐model repeated measures analyses estimated changes in EDA from ages 12 to 17. From 12 to 15 years, all three domains of EDA declined for both boys and girls, with the exception of boys’ empowerment, which remained stable. From 15 to 17 years, declines in support and in boundaries & expectations sustained for both boys and girls; in the empowerment domain, girls further declined at trend level ( p = 0.057), whereas boys remained stable and reported higher empowerment than girls at age 17 ( p = 0.024; d = 0.26). While EDA tend to decline over the early‐ to mid‐adolescent years for both boys and girls, girls reported a persistent erosion in empowerment across adolescence. Gender‐responsive programming, implemented in early adolescence, that intentionally cultivates girls’ empowerment may counter these trends and promote more equitable developmental opportunities.