Resiliance, Risks and Adversity

In today's society, it could be said young-people have ever increasing opportunities for development, education and health compared with previous generations .
1. However, as opportunities increase so does the potential exposure to risk, adversity, change and uncertainty.
  1. Young-people's emotional health and wellbeing is therefore at risk if protective measures, essential for promoting resilience are not in place
In LG 14 Adversity is described as ‘the experience of life events and circumstances which may combine to threaten or challenge healthy development’
1. Adversity can affect young-people in a number of ways and is often the result of a combination of negative consequences such as; neglect, harm, inequality and misfortune
  1. LG 14 stated - . Adverse situations can arise in many different contexts , such as; within communities in a socio-economic context e.g. poor housing or a lack of health provisions. In the family context e.g. domestic abuse or experiencing the death of a relative. Or in the wider global context such as, the recent global recession where Government cut backs have impacted young-people's services e.g. closing youth clubs and higher university fees
Risk is the concept used to define the “chances of adversity translating into actual negative outcomes” for a child or young person . Like adversity, risk factors could be seen at all levels in a young-person's life
1. Environment Level - Poor housing or homelessness Poverty and socio-economic disadvantages Racism and socio-cultural differences, crises
  1. Family Level - Abuse, parents with psychological problems, parents with alcohol or drug dependency, parents involved in criminal activity, lack of guidance, divorce, parental conflict, poor relationships and hostility
    1. Child Level Poor communication skills, illness or poor health Poor education or learning difficulties Low self-esteem, difficult temperament, experience of being bullied.
      1. In LG 14 - case study was seen of a boy called “David”. There were many risks and adverse situations in his life which increased the chance of a negative outcome. At every level; individual, family and environment David faced many challenges and unfortunately protective barriers were not in place to support him.
        Individual Level - Small appearance Truanting Gang involvement Known to police and social workers Excluded from school Drink and drug abuse Criminal convictions
        Family Level Mother with drug and alcohol problems 3 unemployed uncles Uncles with criminal convictions Family refusing help from support networks Domestic abuse
        A combination of all these different risks resulted in the very negative outcome of an innocent person being murdered and David ending up in prison. However, not all young-people experiencing adversity and risk will have negative outcomes
        Unfortunately for David, he did not have the support of a protective environment neither did he show much resilience to cope with his situation. If support and intervention was provided at an early stage the outlook could have been very different (refer back to the resiliance matrix)
        Environment Level Deprived area of Scotland Re-housed 4 times High crime area
In LG 14 - Resilience is the term used to describe “the capacity to transcend adversity”
1. Research has shown that resilience in individuals is not solely dependent on the individual's traits but of a combination of factors such as; their family, community and environment
  1. Therefore, practitioners working with young-people must understand that in-order to promote their wellbeing they must consider all factors which promote resilience
    1. The resilience matrix can be used by practitioners to understand the different dimensions of a young-person's life by breaking down the four key factors which can affect their wellbeing
      1. The model is designed to be solution based rather than problem centred. Practitioners can start with a blank matrix and then fill-in the conditions for each individual they are working with
        Multi-agency working is a practice approach which involves the collaboration of all practitioners working with a particular young-person. The family and all other services come together to work in an integrated manner that puts the young-person's wellbeing in the centre of all priority
        Multi-agency working promotes collaborative practice by integrating the “team around the child” so everyone involved in the child's life can work together efficiently and effectively through sharing information and communicating regularly with the same clear goals and priorities
        Early intervention - Common assessment frameworks (CAF) reports are a key component of the “Every Child Matters” framework. They act as a tool which can be used to identify a young-person's needs at an early stage. CAF reports make an assessment of the young-person’s strengths and concerns collectively by all practitioners and family members in their web of relationships
        Using a CAF report, can be beneficial over a single practitioner's approach because all the different practitioners knowledge’s and experiences can be brought together alongside the families input to portray a wider picture of everything the child requires.
        In a CAF report the lead professional is chosen to represent the young person and everyone involved in the CAF will report via the lead professional. This reduces errors being made being as the issues can be discussed via one route rather than being repeated to different people each time.
        In the case of Victoria Climbie some practitioners did not do their job correctly, some information and certain aspects of the case were not shared with all relevant practitioners.
        The aim of the CAF report identifies any concerns at an early stage and thus, reduces errors being made and information being missed by ensuring all practitioners and family members work together
        CAF report could have been used in the storey of Lucy, she had very good attendance and good grades, but over a short period of a couple of months both had fallen significantly. The practitioners working with Lucy such as, the school counsellor, headmistress and teacher came together to discuss what was happening with Lucy and why
        The counsellor had spoken to the mother who advised Lucy was now caring for her younger siblings because the mother and father had split up. The mother indicated that she would like help, as the situation cannot continue; the counsellor suggested a CAF report maybe beneficial to determine every aspect of Lucy's life which needs improving so they can work together towards a solution
    2. Another resilience strategy used by practitioners is the “I HAVE, I AM, I CAN” technique. This practice focuses on combining all the positive strengths and influences in the young-person's life to build their resilience through their individual strengths
      1. This approach could be used to promote the resilience of “Dee” in the cyber bullying clip.
        After the negative consequences of her actions, Dee is potentially “at risk” in many areas such as; self-confidence, being bullied, victimisation, truanting and poor grades in school to mention a few.
        The following factors show the positive influences in Dee's life which could be used as a protective barrier to promote her resilience and wellbeing
        I HAVE Friends around me that I can trust A family that understands Teachers that will help me resolve this situation Support networks, such as Childline if I need to talk someone
        I AM A kind, caring person Someone my friends can trust Supportive to my family Respectful to my teachers Intelligent and hard-working Helpful to all those around me
        I CAN Talk to others about the problem Share my feelings with my friends Find ways to resolve the situation Help others so they don't get in the same situation Learn from my mistake and do not repeat it
The web of relationships surrounding a young-person can also be crucial to promoting their resilience and protecting their wellbeing. As seen in the cases of “Dee and David" resilience can be affected by factors surrounding the individual, family, community and society.
1. Practitioners can use the social-ecological model to critically assess the different layers of the relationships, focusing on how they interact and affect the young-person's life
  1. The social-ecological model helps practitioners identify where a young-person has support and which areas need more attention.
    1. Social-ecological model could be used by practitioners assessing the children in the clip “Child protectors" in a series of centric rings
      1. Child/Young person - Showing resilience despite adversity Good relationship with their foster carers and also their father, have the support of other siblings
        Family - The children have a loving father who is working very hard to rehabilitate so he can look after them full time
        Community- Based practitioners such as youth workers, teachers, after school club staff
        Society- Services such as, foster care, social services, education and health services

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