PSPS Network Meeting Tuesday 12 February 2008

1. PSPS Network MeetingTuesday 12 February 2008 An Ethnographic Study of School Leavers: A Profile of Characteristics, Competencies and Resilience to Determine Risk Factors Of Becoming Part Of The NEET Population

2. Research Proposal • To determine whether there are common characteristics of school leavers (15-18 year olds) in order to determine ‘at risk’ factors in becoming part of the NEET population • such characteristics include personality traits, resilience, risk and protective factors, feelings/emotions, social skills, attitudes towards school, educational achievement, socio-economic, demographic, environmental,etc

3. Hypotheses • There are educational, socio-economic, demographic and environmental factors that inhibit successful movement into education, employment or training upon leaving school • That young people at risk of becoming part of the NEET population would score lower in a personality assessment • That young people at risk of becoming part of the NEET population would score lower in an assessment of resiliency

4. Research Questions • What are the educational, socio-economic, demographic and environmental factors that inhibit successful movement into education, employment or training? • What are the personality characteristics of those at risk of becoming part of the NEET population that appear to have an effect on attitudes towards employment, education and training? • Are there specific elements or traits that determine resilience factors of individuals at risk of becoming part of the NEET population?

5. Personality 1 • ‘Big Five’ or the ‘five-factor model’ (FFM) • also referred to as the NEO model or NEOAC (OCEAN): Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness (Costa, Macrae & Arenberg, 1980) • Identification of key dimensions of personality • enduring emotional, interpersonal, experiential, attitudinal, and motivational styles (McCrae & John, 1992)

6. Personality 2 • NEO PI-R (Revised Personality Inventory) – The Big Five • Neuroticism • Extraversion • Openness • Agreeableness • Conscientiousness

7. Personality 3 – sub-types • Neuroticism • Anxiety • Angry hostility • Depression • Self-conscious • Impulsive • Vulnerability • Extraversion • Warmth • Gregarious • Assertive • Activity • Excitement-seeking • Positive emotions

8. Personality 4 • Openness • Fantasy • Aesthetics • Feelings • Actions • Ideas • Values • Agreeableness • Trust • Straightforward • Altruism • Compliance • Modesty • Empathy

9. Personality 5 • Conscientiousness • Competence • Order • Dutifulness • Achievement striving • Self-discipline • Deliberation

10. Resilience 1 • A set of qualities that promotes successful adjustment and transformation in spite of risk, hardship and suffering • social competence, flexibility, empathy, communication skills, and a sense of humour, problem-solving, resourcefulness, creativity, etc (Rutter, et al, 1979; Werner & Smith, 1989)

11. Risk factors poverty poor domestic and physical care long-term absence of caregiver in infancy witness to extreme conflict or violence parent with mental illness substantiated neglect parent with substance abuse separation/divorce/single parent parent with criminality sexual, physical, or emotional abuse removal from the family home academic failure (Garmezy, et al, 1984; Kolvin, et al, 1988; Wyman, et al, 1991) Resilience 2

12. Resilience 3 • Protective factors • Qualities of the child - individual characteristics: cognitive ability, temperament and positive social direction • Characteristics of the family – social bonding: affective relationships and moral standards • Support from outside the family – healthy beliefs and clear principles of behaviour (Garmezy, et al, 1984; Werner and Smith, 1992)

13. Resilience 4 • Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale • Adaptable to change • Relationships • Problem solving • Confidence • Positive outlook • Self-belief • Determination • Support networks • Leadership

14. Measures 1 • Defining the NEET population in terms of sub-group categories through a detailed literature review • Liaising with local mainstream secondary schools in order to identify a random sample of school leavers (S4-S6) (n=120) • Administering a personality questionnaire, the NEO PI-R (Revised Personality Inventory) and the Connor-Davidson Resiliency Scale

15. Measures 2 • Gathering a detailed analysis, through Focus Groups, with school leavers with regards to their feelings about employment, training and college opportunities, supports they are receiving, etc

16. Additional Information 1 • It is envisaged that a tracking system will be set up, with the collaboration of Careers Scotland, in order to monitor the destination of school leavers taking part in the study • This will be another dimension in support (or otherwise) of the hypotheses

17. Additional Information 2 • Demographics • Postcode • Personal Information • Date of birth • Academic achievement • Family composition • Culture of employment and expectation

18. Expected Outcomes • It is envisaged that an analysis of characteristics of school leavers will illustrate correlations with regards to personality and resilience characteristics • The monitoring factor regarding actual destinations (positive or negative) of young people upon leaving school will perhaps give validation to the hypotheses • This in turn will be informative in matching specific and successful future intervention strategies to individuals’ needs

19. Oct 06- Oct 08 Development of Research Proposal and Literature Review Sept 07 Ethics approval Nov 07-Jun 08 Data collection – questionnaires, etc Data analysis and discussion write-up Nov 07-Jun 08 cont… Pilot study re Focus Groups Data collection from Focus Groups Jul 08-Dec 08 Monitoring - Careers Scotland Dec 08 Thesis submission Timescale

20. References • Connor, K.M. and Davidson, J.R. (2003) Development of a new resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2): 76-82 • Costa, P.T. Jr. and McCrae, R.R. (1992) Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R). Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. www.parinc.com • Costa, P.T. Jr., Macrae, R.R. and Arenberg, D. (1980) Enduring dispositions in adult males. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38: 793-800 • Garmezy, N., Masten, A.S. and Tellegen, A. (1984). The study of stress and competence in children: A building block for developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55: 97-111. • Kolvin, I., Miller, F.W.J., Fleeting, M., and Kolvin, P.A. (1988). Social and parenting factors affecting criminal-offense rates: Findings from the Newcastle thousand family study (1947-1980). British Journal of Psychiatry, 152: 80-90. • McCrae, R.R. and John, O.P. (1992) An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications. Journal of Personality, 60: 175–215 • Prince-Embury, S. (2007) Resiliency Scales for Children & Adolescents: A Profile of Personal Strengths. Harcourt Assessment, Inc. • Rutter, M., Maughan, B., Mortimore, P., Ouston, J. and Smith, A. (1979) Fifteen Thousand Hours. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. • Werner, E.E. and Smith, R.S. (1982). Vulnerable but Invincible: A Longitudinal Study of Resilient Children and Youth. New York: McGraw-Hill. • Werner, E.E. and Smith R.S. (1992). Overcoming the Odds: High Risk Children from Birth to Adulthood. Cornell University Press: Ithaca and London. • Wyman, P.A., et al (1991). Interviews with children who experienced major life stress: Family and child attributes that predict resilient outcomes. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(5): 904-910.