Peter Lorimer Benson (1946–2011) was a psychologist and CEO/President of Search Institute. He pioneered the developmental assets framework, which became the predominant approach to research on positive facets of youth development. According to the American Psychologist,

Peter L. Benson
Born
Peter Lorimer Benson

May 2, 1946
DiedOctober 2, 2011
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Denver (PhD)
Known forDevelopmental assets
Scientific career
FieldsDevelopmental psychology, psychology of religion,
InstitutionsSearch Institute

When [Benson] introduced the developmental assets [approach] in 1989, the predominant approach to youth development was naming youth problems and trying to prevent them. In contrast, the assets approach focused on building strengths. The developmental assets framework became the predominant positive youth development approach in the world, cited more than 17,000 times, and the framework and surveys developed to measure the assets have been used with more than 3 million youths in more than 60 countries.[1]

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Selected works

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  • Benson, Peter (2008). Sparks: How parents can help ignite the hidden strengths of teenagers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-470-29404-8.

References

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  1. ^ Peter C. Scales & Eugene C. Roehlkepartain (2012). "Peter Lorimer Benson (1946–2011)". American Psychologist. 67 (4). American Psychological Association: 322. doi:10.1037/a0028171. ISSN 0003-066X.
  2. ^ Benson, Peter (2006). All Kids Are Our Kids: What Communities Must Do to Raise Caring and Responsible Children and Adolescents, 2nd Edition (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-7879-8518-9.
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