Promoting the Resilience of Vulnerable Young People: Messages from Research

1. Promoting the Resilience of Vulnerable Young People:Messages from Research Mike Stein Research Professor

2. Presentation Outline • Who are vulnerable young people? • What is resilience? • Resilience and outcomes • Promoting resilience – research and practice • Final thoughts

3. Vulnerable Young People? • Vulnerability and youth • Problems arise in families, getting into trouble, impact upon health and well-being • May cast a long shadow during journey into adulthood • In and out of care, ‘edge of care’, leaving care, into adulthood

4. What is Resilience? • Overcoming the odds, coping, recovery • Response to adversity, disadvantage, problems • Associated with individual qualities; parenting; communities - social networks, schools; and cultures • Ecological perspective • Not celebrity but ‘ordinary magic’

5. Resilience and Outcomes Resilience recognises: • The journey travelled by young people • Their different starting points and pathways – not just standardised or normative outcome measures • Young people’s whole lives and the connections between different dimensions – e.g. well-being and education

6. Promoting Resilience: Research and Practice Resilient ‘children’ have had: • ‘Parenting’ – supported, compensatory care • Attachment, stability and continuity • A sense of identity • Health and wellbeing • Positive educational experience • Vulnerable young people missed out on ‘preventative’ resilience dimensions

7. Promoting Resilience: Transitions • Left family home early, left care, young parent • Homeless, on the streets, poor accommodation • Journey to adulthood – compressed and accelerated • Coping psychologically – dealing with issues over time • Vulnerable young peopled denied the opportunities for gradual transition

8. Promoting Resilience: Supporting Accommodation • Being settled in accommodation, feeling settled associated with wellbeing • Even when young people have had disrupted lives • Build on continuity where positive relationships and networks • Personalisation model of support

9. Promoting Resilience: A Bridge to Learning • Substantial educational deficits – linked to earlier problems • Individual support and small group work • Core subjects plus creative opportunities • Accreditation • Getting back on the educational ladder • Ongoing support in education and careers

10. Promoting Resilience: Providing Support • Formal support – professional relationships • Informal – family and friends • Mentoring - a different kind of relationship? • Flexible and negotiated • Purpose: instrumental---------expressive • Process: service led-----------participatory

11. Promoting Resilience: Social Networks Social, arts and community projects: • Opportunities and turning points • Opportunities to re-frame adversities • Challenging situations • Participation • Positive peer influences

12. Promoting Resilience – Final Thoughts • Responding to vulnerability of young people • Resilience, ‘prevention’, ‘beyond childhood’ • Quality of relationships makes a difference • Ecological perspective - care, education, community, social networks • Integrated working to promote resilience