The Development and Testing of an Instrument to Measure Youth Social Capital in the Domain of Postsecondary Transitions

Through the development and field testing of an instrument designed to measure youth social capital in the context of postsecondary transitions, this research addresses the need for theory-driven measures of social capital among youth. The results offer preliminary evidence that dimensions of youth social capital, including network structure and network content, can be reliably measured and that these dimensions of social capital are interrelated in a manner consistent with theory. The results also offer initial support for the validity of the social capital construct within the domain of youth postsecondary transitions. Taken together, the findings provide a foundation for continued research that might surmount inadequate measures and theoretical disputes to encompass more careful and rigorous empirical scrutiny when it comes to the measurement of social capital among children and adolescents.