Pathways of positive youth development, hope, and life satisfaction: A multi‐country study among Southeast Asian youth

Positive Youth Development (PYD) has gained prominence through models such as the 7Cs-competence, confidence, connection, character, caring, contribution, and creativity-yet relatively little is known about how these dimensions function in Southeast Asian contexts, where young people navigate diverse cultural values, socio-economic structures, and access to resources. Further, although PYD attributes are linked to life satisfaction, limited work has explored mechanisms that may explain these associations. This study investigated the direct and indirect relations of the 7Cs with life satisfaction via hope among youth from six Southeast Asian countries. Participants included 1967 emerging adults (aged 18-25) from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. A series of confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling were conducted to examine the direct and indirect associations of the 7Cs with life satisfaction via hope, while accounting for gender, age, and education. Controlling for the covariates, results showed that confidence, connection, and creativity had indirect associations with life satisfaction through hope. Country-specific models revealed culturally distinct associations, such as the significant indirect role of character in the Philippines, and the nonsignificant relations of confidence and creativity with well-being outcomes in Thailand and Singapore, respectively. Together, these findings advance the understanding of the 7Cs in Southeast Asia, highlight hope as an important mechanism linking PYD to life satisfaction, and underscore the importance of culturally relevant approaches to youth development in the region.