Creating Positive Environments for Adolescents to Succeed

1
Creating Positive Environments for Adolescents to
Succeed

• Judith A. Kahn, MSW
• Executive Director,
• Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board
• August 27, 2007
• 17th Annual CityMatCH Conference

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Overview of Presentation

• Key concepts of positive youth development
• Translate research to effective local practice
• Effective strategies that promote positive youth
  development
• Key concepts and approaches to creating positive
  environments for youth

3
Presentation

• Key concepts of positive youth development
• Translate research to effective local practice
• Effective strategies that promote positive youth
  development
• Key concepts and approaches to creating positive
  environments for youth

4
The Developmental Tasks of Adolescence BEING

• These tasks revolve around
• defining a clear sense of identity,
• developing a positive sense of self worth, and
• achieving a sense of control over ones life.

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The Developmental Tasks of Adolescence BELONGING

• These tasks focus on
• the ability to form healthy relationships with
  others,
• using available support systems,
• finding a valued place in their world, and
• finding ways to be useful to others.

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The Developmental Tasks of Adolescence BECOMING

• These tasks include
• mastering social skills,
• developing lifelong learning habits,
• developing a sense of curiosity and exploration,
• seeing a promising future with real
  opportunities,
• acquiring skills to participate in our economy,
  and
• establishing a respect for diversity.

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Risk Factors

• Life conditions or factors that increase the
  likelihood of poor outcomes
• Factors exist in family, school, community and
  individual

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Protective Factors

• Experiences, events, circumstances that promote
  health and well-being
• Buffer young people from involvement in risky
  behaviors
• Like risk factors, protective factors exist in
  family, school, community and individual

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Risk and Protective Factors Spheres of Influence

• Individual Risk Factors (not exhaustive)
• Poor expressive language
• Physical impairment
• Working more than 20 hours/week
• Older than grade
• Individual Protective Factors (not exhaustive)
• Average intelligence
• Religiosity
• Self-esteem

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Risk and Protective Factors

• Family Risk Factors (not exhaustive)
• Low maternal education
• Large family size
• Poverty
• Family violence
• Family Protective Factors (not exhaustive)
• Connectedness
• Parental expectations
• Monitoring behavior

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Risk and Protective Factors

• School Risk Factors (not exhaustive)
• Retention
• Suspension
• Size of school
• School Protective Factors (not exhaustive)
• Connectedness to school
• High expectations
• Youth involvement in school decisions

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Risk and Protective Factors

• Community Risk Factors (not exhaustive)
• Poverty
• Violence
• Access to tobacco, drugs, alcohol
• Little or no social capital
• Community Protective Factors (not exhaustive)
• Access to role models
• Informal supports for caregivers
• Access to resources/services

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Resilience

• Capacity for adaptation despite adversity,
  trauma, tragedy, threats
• The ability to bounce back
• Resilient child - works well, plays well,
  loves, and expects well
• Attributes
• Social competence
• Problem-solving
• Autonomy
• Sense of purpose and future

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Healthy Youth Development A larger vision of
what young people need

• .... the youth development framework assumes
  that young people have fundamental, underlying
  needs for healthy development. When these needs
  are met, these kids are more likely to develop as
  caring, compassionate individuals with lots of
  sparkle and zest for life.
• Michael Resnick, University of MN

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What Do We Mean by Youth Development?

• A plethora of paradigms
• 5 Cs (Forum for Youth Investment)
• Social Development Theory (Hawkins and Catalano)
• 40 Developmental Assets (Search Institute)
• Five Promises (Americas Promise)
• Seven fundamental requirement of healthy youth
  development

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Youth Development according to Gisela Konopka
1973

• Youth need the opportunity to
• Participate as citizens, as members of a
  household, as workers, and as responsible members
  of society
• Gain experience in decision making
• Interact with peers, and acquire a sense of
  belonging
• Reflect on self in relation to others, and
  discover self by looking outward as well as
  inward

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Youth Development according to Gisela Konopka
(cont.)

• Discuss conflicting values and formulate ones
  own value system
• Experiment with ones own identity, with
  relationships try out various roles without
  having to commit oneself irrevocably
• Develop a feeling of accountability in the
  context of a relationship among equals.
• Cultivate a capacity to enjoy life.

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Presentation

• Key concepts of positive youth development
• Translate research to effective local practice
• Effective strategies that promote positive youth
  development
• Key concepts and approaches to creating positive
  environments for youth

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Interrelationship of Health Behaviors

• Many poor health outcomes share the same risk
  factors
• Poverty, poor academic achievement and suicide in
  the family put youth at risk for multiple
  problems.
• Like risk factors, protective factors also
  cluster
• Doing well in school is a protective factor
  against substance use, violence and risky sexual
  behavior.
• Effect of risk and protective factors is
  cumulative
• The same holds true for protective factors
• Interrelationship between some risk and
  protective factors vary based on gender, race and
  ethnicity

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Theories Applied

• Effective prevention strategies work across risk
  behaviors
• Strategies that show promise for reducing a
  teens risk of smoking or drinking are similar to
  strategies that show promise of preventing early
  onset of sexual activity or engaging in violence.
• Effective strategies use a dual approach of
  reducing risk and increasing protective factors
• Targeting singular risk behaviors with prevention
  efforts alone is less effective than holistic
  approaches

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Theories Applied

• Youths needs span every sphere of influence
  individual, family, school, and the community
• Strategies should address as many spheres as
  possible
• Although the focus tends to be on eliminating
  risk behaviors, all youth need supports,
  opportunities and services for positive youth
  development
• Relationships with caring, competent adults make
  the difference

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Shifting to a Youth Development Approach

• Requires a shift from prevention to
  development
• Teaching resistance skills is not the same as
  helping young people think about and prepare for
  the future
• Program/service goals shift to focus on youths
  capacities, strengths, and developmental
  (physical, mental, social and emotional) needs.
• Incorporates protective factors and emphasizes
  ways to tap young peoples passionate enthusiasms
  and energy.
• May necessitate programs to reinvent, not simply
  reorganize, how they work with youth.

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Presentation

• Key concepts of positive youth development
• Translate research to effective local practice
• Effective strategies that promote positive youth
  development
• Key concepts and approaches to creating positive
  environments for youth

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Implications for working with youth

• Whats the difference Problem free vs. fully
  prepared vs. fully engaged?
• Answer its the difference between reducing vs.
  increasing vs. fostering

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Implications for working with families

• Help parents with the challenging task of raising
  kids
• Positive parenting supervision, family leisure
  time spent on shared interests, availability at
  key time during the day, and setting clear
  expectations

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Implications for schools

• Strategies that increase connectedness
• Climate creating a safe, welcoming place
• High expectations
• Participation and engagement
• Question is broadening from what should kids
  learn to include what are the characteristics
  of places where learning happens?

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Implications for community settings

• Promote caring youth-adult relationships
• Emphasize the development of life skills
• Promote youth participation and engagement in
  every aspect of programs and civic life of a
  community

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Implications for policy

• Improve access to care and services
• Create adolescent-positive societal norms and
  commitment to adolescent issues
• Create opportunities for adolescents to engage in
  healthy behaviors
• Improve environments in which adolescents develop
• Improve collaborative relationships

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Presentation

• Key concepts of positive youth development
• Translate research to effective local practice
• Effective strategies that promote positive youth
  development
• Key concepts and approaches to creating positive
  environments for youth

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Developmentally Supportive Places

• Features
• Physical and psychological safety
• Appropriate structure
• Supportive adult relationships
• Feelings of belonging and being valued
• Opportunities to develop positive social values
  and norms
• Support for efficacy and mattering
• Opportunities for skill building and mastery
• National Academies of Sciences/National Research
  Councils Panel on Community Youth Development
  Programs

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SOS for Youth

• People, programs and institutions who work with
  youth are engaged in youth development if there
  is strong evidence of the following practices
• Supports motivational, emotional and strategic
  supports to succeed in life
• Opportunities chances for young people to learn
  how to act in the world around them, to explore,
  express, earn, belong, and influence.
• Quality Services in areas such as education,
  health, employment and juvenile justice
• Relevant
• Challenging, with opportunities to contribute
• Supportive adults and peers

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• Healthy development is not an individual process
  rather, it is a community affair
• ddddddd
• Youth development isnt one more thing to add to
  your plate youth development is the plate.