exploring resiliency beyond the individual

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Exploring Resiliency Beyond the Individual

Theory, Framework, Programs and Application

Patricia Scott-JeoffroyParent Action on Drugs

March, 2011

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• Established in 1983• mandate is to address issues that impact youth

substance use• develops and provides a growing bank of programs

and resources for youth, professionals and parents and caregivers

• PAD is a member of HC Link

www.parentactionondrugs.org

Parent Action on DrugsLeading the way to stronger youth and families

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Exploring resiliency beyond the individual

TheoryFrameworkPrograms

Application

Agenda

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THEORYTHEORY

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The ability to bounce back from difficult situations and adversity to make healthier choices when coping with life’s struggles

Defining Resiliency

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Research shows that a resilient youth is less likely to become involved in problems such as

substance use, gang participation, gambling or other anti-social behaviors

Importance of Resiliency

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The concept of resiliency is not new.

Many researchers and clinicians have understood the role that resiliency plays in the lives of youth for

many years.

It’s Not New

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The capacity for resiliency develops and changes over time

Work is primarily focused on at risk youth Risk and protective factors Developed a framework and assessment tool

Dr. Wayne Hammond

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Too Safe for Their Own Good: How Risk and Responsibility Help Teens Thrive

How much risk is too much risk? Are we keeping our kids too safe? Need to teach youth what is appropriate risk taking, how to

assess risk and how to keep themselves safe rather than doing it for them

Strength Based Counseling: with At-Risk Youth Six strategies for nurturing resiliency The hidden coping of disadvantaged youth

Michael Under

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From a community perspective:

◦ in the environment in which teens are learning to be adults; has the community found the balance between keeping youth safe and allowing them the risk taking responsibilities of the maturing process?

Unger

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Hold onto your kids: Why parents matter more than peers

Engaging parents in the development process of youth and addressing the ‘they just don’t listen’ issue for parents

Applied to a community understanding:the parent, community and broader society also speak to the youth growing up

in the community

Emphasis importance to listening to the voice of youth

Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate

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The Heroic ClientWhat is Right with You Approaching problems in life with a negative self perception predisposes you to failure.

Your personal strength allows you to manage the inevitable changes that life will offer.

Applied to the community: does the environment view youth as a potential problem or opportunity and what do the policies developed reflect?

Barry Duncan

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FRAMEWORKFRAMEWORK

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Traditional understanding of the youth address the internal variables:

• the ‘nature’ of the youth • the individual

Approaches focus on building self-esteem, optimism and independence of the individual almost in isolation of the external environment

Approaches to Youth Resiliency

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Emphasis on the internal variables of the youth are important however can be limiting

By also addressing the context of the community and the environment in which the youth lives broadens the impact of resiliency programs.

What is the impact?

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Examines the context of the individual’s existence: family, peers, school, neighbours and larger society

Explores the role of the environment in building resiliency

Reverses the lens from the individual’s resiliency to the perspective of the environment

Ecological Approach

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• How the youth feels and sees themselves, is influences by the broader community, including friends, family and neighbourhood.

• These are directly shaped by national policies, global economic climate, terrorism and the media

Mental Health Foundation of Australia

Ecological Approach

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• Suggests that viewing resiliency as a component of just the individual is a limited approach

• Rather, resiliency is an attribute of communities, schools and families.

• Attention to the risk factors should be done only to identify development of protective factors


Ecological Approach

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• a tendency to see the good or poor functioning of a youth as due to the youth’s ‘nature' rather than their context or circumstances


‘Fundamental Attribution Error’

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Betancourt and KhanHarvard School of Public Health 2008

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• A focus on identifying and developing protective factors• Targeting of ‘at risk’ children• Targeting at times of transition and stress• A strong research or evidence base• A focus on fostering supportive environments• a preference for systemic intervention• Evaluation built into the program

Best Practice for Resiliency Programs

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Mission: frame goals in positive terms

Models: include positive predictors and outcome in models of change

Measures: assess the positive ways as well as the negative

Methods: consider multiply strategies based on resilient needs1. Risk-based approaches2. Asset-focused strategies3. Process-oriented designs

Best Practice

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• When designing programs focus on the positive resources, health and competence

• ‘Programs’ mission, goals, measures and methods should all reflect a focus on positive adaption and the natural human capacity for healthy adaptation.’

Ann Masten and Jennifer Powell

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PROGRAMSPROGRAMS

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In February 2009, OPHA received Health Canada funding to lead a provincial Youth Engagement (YE) Project. Working closely with six pilot sites throughout Ontario, OPHA assisted with local youth engagement initiatives and developed tools and resources for organizations to use when working with youth

OPHA

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Youth Engagement Project• The project will run from February 2009 – June 2011.• The goal of this project is to increase the application of

knowledge and skills among public health professionals working with grades 6, 7 and 8 students to increase youth engagement in activities that enhance protective factors and resilience against illicit drug use and risk taking behaviours among this age group.

www..opha.on.ca

OPHA

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Strengthening Families Programsaims to increase family cooperation, communication and

organization through participation in an eight-week skills-building family change program

• Increase positive parenting practices• Increase overall family strengths and resilience• Increase social skills in youth (cooperation,

responsibility and self-control)

Parent Action on Drugs

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• an active curriculum of skills-building designed specifically to increase protective factors, such as parent-child communication and empathy, consistent parental monitoring and positive discipline and strategies to improve family organization and cohesion. Sessions for youth are designed specifically with youth in mind; to be fun, active and helpful in relation to both parents and peers.

www.parentactionondrugs.org

Strengthening Families Programs

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Growing up resilient: Ways to build resilience in children and youth Tatyana Barankin and Nazilla Khanlou

How people cope with the challenges they face in different life stages is influenced by their sense of who they are, how they relate to the world and others around them, and how well they manage the various parts of their lives.

www.camh.net

CAMH

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APPLICATIONSAPPLICATIONS

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• No two communities will be the same or require the same supports and developments

• All aspects of the local community as well as the wider society (Global economic conditions, political unrest, violence etc.) will fluctuate

• Seek to be aware of the environment created through public policy and actions which have an influence on resiliency

What can we do?

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• The strength of the social capital available for the individual to draw upon in times of adversity

• The strength of the social network that supports members of the community

Community Resilience

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• New High School built to accommodate increasing population in GTA community

• School is built facing north side of 4 lane road

• No side walk in front of school on north side of the street

• Pizza, sub and chicken shop on south side of the street, bus stop and cross walk are on the North side approx 500 yards to the west with no connecting side walk

A Local Example

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• Whereas youth in their high school years are developing independence and assessing risk taking, the environment created by the lack of sidewalk inhibited appropriate opportunities.

• Youth began crossing the 4 lane highway in the midst of traffic

Environmental Resiliency

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• A sidewalk was built in front of the school to allow for safe passage to the intersection and south side of the street

• Assessing youth resiliency from the individual perspective would evaluate what was wrong with the youth that they would be running across 4 lanes of traffic and not acknowledge that the community has created an environment that inhibited building resiliency

Community Response

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• evaluate environment in which the youth is making decisions

• the missing sidewalk is a variable beyond the internal ‘nature’ of the individual

• therefore by building the sidewalk, the community is playing a positive role to develop the independence of the youth and supporting the development resiliency

Ecological Response

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• A GTA community has a growing population, and is a commuter town for the City of Toronto

• With this develops a community of families with most housing geared toward two income single family homes

• The result is many parents absent from the family home after school (generally between 2:30-6:00pm)

Another Community Example

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• New developers in partnership with the town and a youth advisory council construct a skate-board park in the middle of the new development.

• Refocus on traditional approach to children’s playground.

• Allows space for youth who have outgrown the playground

Investing in Youth

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• Provides affordable access to local community centers for swimming, skating, hockey and art clubs

• Provides youth drop-in programs between 3:00-5:00pm at various community locations

• Provides ‘in-training’ programs for youth who are underage for employment

Community Response

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• Prioritizing youth in the community allowed for the recognition of positive attributes of youth

• Public policy allowed for programming to support youth through social, recreational and academic opportunities

• Creates a community of resilience rather than a community of youth without structured opportunities

Ecological Response

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Boys Adrift, Girls on the Edge

Assessment of gender differences in risk taking behavior

• Boys overestimate their ability and underestimate the risks

• Girls underestimate their ability and overestimate the risks

Leonard Sax

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Parent Action on Drugs www.parentactionondrugs.org

Resiliency Initiatives : Dr. Wayne Hammond www.resiliencycanada.ca

Resiliency Research Center: Michael Unger www.resilienceproject.org

Mental Health Foundation of Australia www.embracethefuture.org.au

Resources

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• By strengthening individual resiliency you also can work towards building a stronger safer community

• Resiliency can be developed within the individual.

• Resiliency is also a product of the environment, community and social context of the individual

• Partnership potentials exist within the community and programs designed to address both offer the best opportunities for youth

Conclusion

exploring resiliency beyond the individual

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