"I Wouldn't Say Tedious In a Bad Way:" Lessons from a Youth-Driven Social Capital Project on the Development of a Digital Social Network Support Survey

Background and Purpose: Social capital has been referred to as the resources that are embedded within social support networks that help people pursue their goals. Although there is a breadth of research on youth on the benefits of social capital, few studies have examined how youth build and navigate their social support networks. In addition, the existing measures of social capital for youth vary widely and have not included youth in the development process. The current project presents findings from a youth-driven social capital project that utilized a combination of participatory methods and social capital survey data to improve upon current understandings of how youth build, navigate, and leverage social capital to achieve vocational and educational outcomes. The goal of the current study was to examine whether a survey, compared to more participatory methods, enhance youths’ understanding of social capital.

Methods: Participants ages 16-21 were recruited from five youth-serving organizations across the US that incorporate social capital into their curriculum. A total of 26 youth completed an online social support network survey asking them to identify peers and adults who help them to achieve their educational and career goals in four developmental contexts (in school adults, out of school adults, family, and peers), as well as the types of support these individuals provide (e.g., academic, emotional). Next, 17 of the 26 youth who completed the survey participated in two 90-minute virtual design sessions co-led by a community engagement specialist and a research assistant. During these design sessions, youth provided feedback on their experiences of taking the survey and participated in various activities (i.e., web of support mapping) to elicit further understanding of the processes behind their social capital development. Survey data were analyzed using RStudio. Design session transcripts were uploaded to NVivo and thematically analyzed.

Results: Results from the social support network survey showed that only one youth listed an out-of-school adult as providing support that helps them achieve their educational or career goals versus 72 in-school adults, 69 friends, and 61 family members. During the design sessions, youth indicated that time and space is required to understand social capital more deeply, particularly the concept that weak ties can lead to the attainment of educational and academic goals. Youth noted that an online survey could be of help when learning about social capital, but that reflective activities led by adults combined with peer-to-peer learning provided a more complete understanding.

Conclusion: A standalone online social support network survey may not be able to provide youth with enough scaffolding to help understand key concepts related to social capital. Youth require guided opportunities that allow space and time to reflect on social capital concepts to develop a more complete understanding and to move towards the activation of their social capital. Further research would help to understand more fully how only surveys could be utilized for youth social capital development.