This document discusses fostering resilience in children and youth. It defines resilience as positive outcomes despite serious threats or risks. The presentation objectives are to define risk and resilience, illustrate resilience dimensions in children and youth, describe recent research findings, and consider approaches to facilitate student resilience. The document discusses shifting from a risk focus to resilience, protective factors like relationships and skills, and frameworks for positive youth development. It also summarizes several programs that aim to develop social-emotional skills and assets to promote resilience.

1. Fostering Resilience:
Developing Internal
and External Assets
Larry Haberlin
lhaberlin@telus.net
March 25, 2009

2. Programs
 Roots of Empathy
 Second Step
 FRIENDS for Life
 The Fourth R
 DPAS Community Service Learning
 SACY - School Age Children and Youth Substance Abuse
Prevention Program

3. What is Resilience?
Good outcomes in spite of serious threats to
adaptation in development

4. Objectives of this Presentation
 To identify definitions of risk and resiliency.To identify definitions of risk and resiliency.
 To illustrate dimensions of resiliency in relation toTo illustrate dimensions of resiliency in relation to
children and youth.children and youth.
 To describe recent research findings on resiliency.To describe recent research findings on resiliency.
 To consider approaches and programs that facilitateTo consider approaches and programs that facilitate
resiliency of the children in your schools.resiliency of the children in your schools.

5. Shifting from a Risk to a Resilience Focus
““There is a regrettable tendency to focus gloomily onThere is a regrettable tendency to focus gloomily on
the ills of mankind and on all that can and does gothe ills of mankind and on all that can and does go
wrong . . . The potential for prevention surely lies inwrong . . . The potential for prevention surely lies in
increasing our knowledge and understanding of theincreasing our knowledge and understanding of the
reason why some children are not damaged byreason why some children are not damaged by
deprivation”deprivation”
(Rutter, 1979).(Rutter, 1979).

6. History of Resilience
Kaui Hawaii 1960’s

7. What Differences Make a Difference?
 Better parenting resourcesBetter parenting resources
 More appealing infantsMore appealing infants
 Better cognitive test scoresBetter cognitive test scores
 Positive self-perceptionsPositive self-perceptions
 Greater conscientiousnessGreater conscientiousness
 One significant AdultOne significant Adult

8. Changing Terminology…
“Invulnerable” ??

10. Resilience
… is both an individual’s capacity to
navigate to health promoting resources
…and a condition of the individual’s family,
community and culture to provide those
resources in meaningful ways

11. What is Risk?
 Individual FactorsIndividual Factors
 Family FactorsFamily Factors
 Peer FactorsPeer Factors
 School FactorsSchool Factors
 Social/Community FactorsSocial/Community Factors
 Social-culturalSocial-cultural

12. Risk / Resilience

13. Protective Factors
 Child AssetsChild Assets
 TemperamentTemperament
 Cognitive AbilitiesCognitive Abilities
 Positive view of selfPositive view of self
 Emotional & Behavioural regulationEmotional & Behavioural regulation
 Asks for HelpAsks for Help
 Plans for the future (hope)Plans for the future (hope)
 A sense of meaning in lifeA sense of meaning in life
 Sense of HumourSense of Humour
 AttractivenessAttractiveness

14. Protective Factors
 Family AssetsFamily Assets
 Positive adult role modelsPositive adult role models
 Positive communication within thePositive communication within the
familyfamily
 Parental involvement in child’s lifeParental involvement in child’s life
 Clear rules and consequences within theClear rules and consequences within the
familyfamily
 Time with familyTime with family

15. Protective Factors
 Community AssetsCommunity Assets
 High Neighborhood quality (low violence, recreational center,High Neighborhood quality (low violence, recreational center,
clean air and water)clean air and water)
 Effective SchoolsEffective Schools
 Employment opportunities for parents and teensEmployment opportunities for parents and teens
 Good public healthcareGood public healthcare
 Sense of school belongingSense of school belonging
 Connections to significant non-parental adultsConnections to significant non-parental adults
 Connections to Pro-social peersConnections to Pro-social peers

16. Protective Factors
 Cultural / Societal Assets
 Protective child policies (health, welfare, childProtective child policies (health, welfare, child
labour, parental leave)labour, parental leave)
 Value and Resources directed at educationValue and Resources directed at education
 Prevention of and protection from oppressionPrevention of and protection from oppression
or political violenceor political violence
 Low acceptance of physical violenceLow acceptance of physical violence

17. Emergent Themes of Risk and Resilience
 Hidden Resilience - (not always socially acceptable)
 Resilience as “Fit” (no “one size fits all”)
 Risk status should be viewed as steps along a continuum
 The “at risk” label is a misnomer -- assumes prediction
 Risk is multiplicative - (consider early adolescence)
 The timing of risk factors may differentially affect outcomes (e.g.
death of parent at birth versus adolescence)
 Risk propensity is heightened during periods of transition

18. Transitions
Risk or Opportunities?
 Birth
 Enter School system
 Enter Highschool
 Exit School
…. (cont’d)

19. Transitions
 Death and Loss
 Illness
 Moving
 Youth Leaving Care
 Youth entering & exiting Correction Centers
OTHERS?

20. How can we foster Resilience?

21. Positive Youth Development Framework
“Assumes that the nature of the child -
every child-is marked by considerable
resiliency. The Agenda is to maximize
this potential”.
William Damon

22. Positive Youth Development
The Child & Community
“PYD sees the child as full partner in the Community-Child
relation, bearing a full share of rights and responsibilities”
William Damon
“Ask not what your community can do for you……”

23. Some Guiding Principles

24. ABC’s
 Autonomy
 Belonging
 Competence

25. Circle of Courage

26. Strategies to Foster Resilience

27. Foster Social Emotional Learning
CASEL’s Five SEL Competency Areas

28. http://www.casel.org/

29. What we know today…
 New information about Early Child Development HELP
http://www.earlylearning.ubc.ca/
 Brain Research
 Social and Emotional Learning research
 “Evidence based Practice
Assessment re. “what works”

30. In Summary
Resilience is
 The capacity of individuals to navigate the
resources that sustain well-being
 The capacity of individual’s environment to
provide resources
 The capacity of individuals, their families and
communities to negotiate culturally meaningful
ways for resources to be shared
Michael Unger PhD

31. Search Institute’s 40
Developmental Assets
 Review the 40 Developmental Assets and
determine which of them your schools
potentially could foster. Which ones are
you working on and which ones could you
emphasize more?
 Only two of the 40 Assets are directly
related to academic achievement.

32. Programs
 Roots of Empathy
 Second Step
 FRIENDS for Life
 The Fourth R
 DPAS Community Service Learning
 SACY - School Age Children and Youth Substance Abuse
Prevention Program

33. ROE Program Goals
Overall, the ROE program is designed:
 To foster the development of children’s
empathy, emotional literacy, and social
understanding,
 To foster children’s prosocial qualities
(concern for others, helpfulness, and
cooperation),
 To reduce levels of children’s aggression,
 To increase children’s knowledge of human
development, parenting, and infant safety.

34. 2000-2001: Changes in Proactive “Bullying”
Aggression from Pretest to Post-Test by Group
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
Pre-Test Post-Test
Comparison
Children
Roots of
Empathy
Children

35. 2000-2001: Of those children who evidenced some form of proactive
aggression (bullying) at pre-test:
ROE children: 88% decreased
Comparison children: 9% decreased; 50%
increased
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
ROE
Comparison
88%
50%

36. 2002-2003: Changes in Peer Assessments:
Prosocial Dimensions
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
Prosocial
Behaviors
Prosocial
Characteristics
Peer
Acceptance
ROE
Comparison

37. Second Step
 Empathy
 Impulse Control
 Anger Management
 Kits from Pre School to Intermediate
 VSB Initiative

38. Second Step Research
Grossman, Et Al (1997), Randomized Control Study
Aggression decreased among SS classroom students
Aggression increased among non-SS students
Pro-social behavour increased and were maintained in a six
month follow up

39. FOR YOUTH
FF eelings
RR emember to Relax. Have quiet time.
II nner helpful thoughts (I can try my best).
EE xplore Solutions and Coping Step Plans
NN ow reward yourself! You’ve done your best!
DD on’t forget to practice!
SS mile! Stay calm for life!

40. Program Philosophy
The FRIENDS for Life program was created to:
 Develop life skills to effectively cope with difficult and/or
anxiety provoking situations.
 Normalize the emotional state of anxiety
 Build emotional resilience & problem-solving abilities
 Encourage peer learning, support networks & positive role
models
 Promote self- confidence
 Empower children, families & teachers

41. a simple definition…
Resilience =
to spring back, or rebound
Oxford Dictionary

42. Benefits Of Resilience
 relate better to other children, teachers and parents
 competent in dealing with stress and school work
(Aber, Jones & Cohen, 2000)
 show less behavioural problems at school, even if they are in adverse
life circumstances(Caprara et al., 2000)
 fundamental importance to success in life (Dr Heckman, Nobel Laureate
in Economics, 2000)

43. Research Findings
 80% of children showing signs of anxiety disorder no
longer display that disorder after completing the program
 Resilience skills acquisition at 3 age levels = long term
maintenance of gains
 For children who are not clinically anxious, FRIENDS
significantly increases their level of self-esteem while
reducing worry and sadness

44. Percentage
%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
12 months 24 Months 36 Months
Intervention
Control
*Significant differences between INTERVENTION and CONTROL groups at 36 months
Follow-up
Barrett, Farrell, Ollendick, & Dadds (2006)
Results from a 3 year follow up study using the FRIENDS program
with primary and high school students (Australian Study)

45. The Fourth R
Larry Haberlin
lhaberlin@telus.net
BC Program Coordinator

46. Positive Youth Development
 Want to help teens go beyond not drinking, not being
violent, etc.
 What they WANT their relationships to look like, not
merely what to avoid
 Build resilience for future stressful situations
 Universal intervention
 No stigma for being involved
 All teens will end up in difficult interpersonal situations
 Increase capacity of bystanders
The Fourth R

47. Skill Development
 Focus on helping teens keep themselves safe in potentially
dangerous situations
 Recognize that some of these behaviours are normative
 Criminalization has not been an effective way to reduce
problems and can exacerbate problems
The Fourth R

48. Comprehensive Approach
 Multi-focused:
 Multi-focused targeting a triad of risk behaviours
 Personal Safety and Injury Prevention (Peer and Dating
Violence Prevention)
 Healthy Growth and Sexuality
 Substance Use and Abuse
 Twenty one lessons:
Planning Ten
Alternative Education
Aboriginal Education
The Fourth R

49. Research on the Fourth R
Youth engagement and learning: students learned more
and were more engaged in Fourth R classes.
Teachers: 40% reported developing better relationships
with their students.
Skill development: students were 2.2 times more likely to
use negotiation skills and 4.8 times more likely to use
delaying skills and therefore less likely to yield to peer
pressure.
Violence: youth who had suffered multiple types of abuse
were significantly less likely to be violent.
Two year follow up: boys were less likely to perpetrate dating
violence and more likely to use a condom.

50. The Fourth R In BC
 150 Teachers from 18 Districts have been trained
in BC
 Trainings being planned:
Lower Mainland: June 09
Vancouver Island: October 23, 09

51. SACY
School-aged Children and Youth Substance Use
Prevention Initiative

52.  VSB Social Responsibility identified need
 Approached Vancouver Coastal Health
 Interagency committee formed:
 VBE
 VCH
 Vancouver Police Department
 City of Vancouver
 UBC
 Centre for Addictions Research of BC
Background

53.  Enhance the prevention and early
intervention infrastructure for children and
youth in VSB to:
 Prevent substance use
 Delay substance use
 Prevent substance use problems
SACY Mission

54. Focus on developing assets, not on deficits.
 "All Children and youth need assets.
 Relationships are key.
 Everyone can build assets.
 Building assets is ongoing process.
 Asset building requires consistent messaging.
 Duplication and repetition are good and important."
Five Key Assets:
Positive relationships with parents.
Positive peer relationships.
Positive relationship with the school.
Positive relationship with at least one adult in the school.
Service to others.
Evidence base

55.  Comprehensive and multi-sectoral
 Inclusive; bring students closer
 Focus on assets, strengths; not on
deficits.
 Fit within school’s culture; augment
 Evidence-based
 Youth voice is a resource
 Relevant to the lived experiences of
youth
 Whole school approach
SACY Philosophy

56.  STEP (SACY Teen Engagement Program)
 Parent Engagement Stream
 Student Engagement Stream
 Curriculum and Teacher Training Stream
SACY –
four interrelated streams

57. Typically includes:
• SACY Stream Workers
• AOD Prevention Specialist
Administration
Counselors
CST representatives
Teachers
Nurses
Students
Multicultural workers
SWIS
First Nations Support Workers
PAC reps & other parents
SLOs
Youth Addiction Counselors
Mental Health Workers
Etc.
School SACY Team

58. STEP
(SACY Teen Engagement
Program)

59. STEP (SACY Teen Engagement Program)
Goal of STEP:
Students attending school and school related
events drug free.
 Three-day, structured, cumulative
 Incorporates education, information, work on goals, and
skill building
 Includes detailed follow up and parent component
Referral criteria: any student incurring problems at school
related to substance use.

60. Parent Engagement

61. Parent Engagement Stream
The Parent Engagement stream seeks to:
 strengthen parent/family awareness, knowledge
and skills
 enhance parent-teen relationships and
communication skills
 help reduce the stigma, blame, and shame that
many parents feel when their families have
difficulties.

62. Youth Engagement

63. Youth Engagement Stream
 Philosophy: engage and work with students who
are on the “fringe”and draw them closer and keep
them in school.
 Class presentations, one day workshops and
speakers.
 Community service learning projects and school
wide initiatives.
 “Capacity Cafes”
 Presentations to various groups and organizations.

64. “To stay emotionally open and resilient,
young people must feel connected to adults.
To redeem their future, we must restore
their emotional security. Supporting stable
relationships through adolescence, in the
home, in the schools, and throughout our
entire society, must become an urgent
national priority.” Gabor Mate