Transcript Slide 1

Theory, Framework, Programs and Application
Patricia Scott-Jeoffroy
Parent Action on Drugs
March, 2011
© PAD 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
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Exploring resiliency beyond the individual
Theory
Framework
Programs
Application
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The ability to bounce back from difficult
situations and adversity to make healthier
choices when coping with life’s struggles
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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The Heroic Client
What is Right with You
 Approaching problems in life with a
negative self perception predisposes you to failure.
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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?
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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
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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.
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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
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How the youth feels and sees themselves, is influences
by the broader community, including friends, family
and neighbourhood.
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These are directly shaped by national policies, global
economic climate, terrorism and the media
Mental Health Foundation of Australia
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Suggests that viewing resiliency as a component of just the
individual is a limited approach
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Rather, resiliency is an attribute of communities, schools and
families.
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Attention to the risk factors should be done only to identify
development of protective factors
Mental Health Foundation of Australia
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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
Mental Health Foundation of Australia
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Macrosystem
Meso-system
/exosystem
Micro-systems
Individual
Betancourt and Khan
Harvard School of Public Health 2008
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Mental Health Foundation
of Australia
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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
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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 needs
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Risk-based approaches
Asset-focused strategies
Process-oriented designs
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When designing programs focus on the positive
resources, health and competence
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‘Programs’ mission, goals, measures and methods
should all reflect a focus on positive adaption and the
natural human capacity for healthy adaptation.’
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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
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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
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Strengthening Families Programs
aims to increase family cooperation, communication and
organization through participation in an eight-week skillsbuilding family change program
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positive parenting practices
• Increase overall family strengths and resilience
• Increase social skills in youth (cooperation,
responsibility and self-control)
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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
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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
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No two communities will be the same or require the same
supports and developments
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All aspects of the local community as well as the wider society
(Global economic conditions, political unrest, violence etc.)
will fluctuate
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Seek to be aware of the environment created through public
policy and actions which have an influence on resiliency
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The strength of the social capital available for the
individual to draw upon in times of adversity
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The strength of the social network that supports
members of the community
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New High School built to accommodate increasing population
in GTA community
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School is built facing north side of 4 lane road
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No side walk in front of school on north side of the street
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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
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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.
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Youth began crossing the 4 lane highway in the midst
of traffic
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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
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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
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evaluate environment in which the youth is making decisions
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the missing sidewalk is a variable beyond the internal ‘nature’
of the individual
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therefore by building the sidewalk, the community is playing a
positive role to develop the independence of the youth and
supporting the development resiliency
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A GTA community has a growing population, and is a
commuter town for the City of Toronto
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With this develops a community of families with most housing
geared toward two income single family homes
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The result is many parents absent from the family home after
school (generally between 2:30-6:00pm)
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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.
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Refocus on traditional approach to children’s playground.
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Allows space for youth who have outgrown the playground
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Provides affordable access to local community centers for
swimming, skating, hockey and art clubs
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Provides youth drop-in programs between 3:00-5:00pm at
various community locations
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Provides ‘in-training’ programs for youth who are underage
for employment
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Prioritizing youth in the community allowed for the
recognition of positive attributes of youth
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Public policy allowed for programming to support youth
through social, recreational and academic opportunities
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Creates a community of resilience rather than a community of
youth without structured opportunities
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Boys Adrift, Girls on the Edge
Assessment of gender differences in risk taking behavior
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Boys overestimate their ability and underestimate the risks
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Girls underestimate their ability and overestimate the risks
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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
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By strengthening individual resiliency you also can work
towards building a stronger safer community
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Resiliency can be developed within the individual.
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Resiliency is also a product of the environment, community
and social context of the individual
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Partnership potentials exist within the community and
programs designed to address both offer the best
opportunities for youth
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© PAD 2011