Support and Positive Values Among Urban Youths: The Mediational Roles of Positive Identity and Commitment to Learning

Although existing literature demonstrates that youth positive developmental benefits are associated with support for urban youths, little is understood about the multiple roles of positive identity and commitment to learning influence on positive values. This study examines the multiple mediation effects of positive identity and commitment to learning on the relationship between support and positive values embraced by urban youths living in the inner city of Kuala Lumpur. The participants of the study were 243 urban youths, ages ranging between 15 and 24 years. The average age is 17.2 (SD=2.45). These youths are predominantly Malay (91%) while the others are Chinese and Indian. Using the Hayes and Preacher procedure, the bootstrap analysis shows that commitment to learning, jointly and partially mediates the effects of support on positive values, whilst positive identity does not contribute to the relation between support and positive values. The analyses provide support for the meditational assumptions that support influence positive values through school engagement. Suggestions for further research and implications for positive youth development are considered.