MHC Network Meeting (December 2018) Risk and Resilience MHC Network Meeting (December 2018)

What do you understand by the concepts: RISK? PROTECTIVE FACTORS? RESILIENCE?

Risk: any factor or combination of factors that increases the chance of an undesirable outcome affecting a person. Protective factors: the circumstances that moderate the effects of risk. Resilience: positive adaptation in the face of severe adversities. Resilience is the ability to ‘bounce back’

What are some of the ‘risk factors’ for pupils in your schools?

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiMjTzCnbNQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMpIi-4CZK0

Patterns in risk… Risk factors are cumulative 1 risk factor  probability of mental health problem c. 1–2% 3 risk factors  probability c. 8% > 4 factors  probability c. 20%

Protective Factors Close Interpersonal Relationships Low sensitivity Overcoming adversity in the past Intelligence High self esteem Seeking novelty School enjoyment Interest / hobbies Focusing on the positives Internal, stable & global attributions Good social skills Valued social role Support from friends, family, community

Resilience “The flexibility that allows certain children and young people who appear to be at risk to bounce back from adversity, to cope with and manage their difficulties and disadvantages in life, and even to thrive in the face of what appears to be over-whelming odds” (Dent & Cameron, 2003)

Individual factors associated with resilience School-Age Adolescents Female Sense of competence and self-efficacy Internal locus of control Empathy with others Problem-solving skills Communication skills Sociable Independent Reflective, not impulsive Ability to concentrate on schoolwork Autonomy (girls) Emotional expressiveness (boys) Sense of humour Hobbies Willingness and capacity to plan Male Responsibility Social maturity Positive self-concept Achievement orientation Gentleness, nurturance Social perceptiveness Preference for structure A set of values Intelligence (Daniel and Wassell, 2002)

Family factors associated with resilience School-age children Adolescents Close bond with at least one person Nurturance and trust Lack of separations Lack of parental mental health or addiction problems Required helpfulness Encouragement for autonomy (girls) Encouragement for expression of feelings (boys) Close grandparents Sibling attachment Four or fewer children Sufficient financial and material resources A close bond with at least one person Encouragement of autonomy (girls) Encouragement of expression of feelings (boys) Family harmony (Daniel and Wassell, 2002)

Community factors associated with resilience School-age children Adolescents Neighbour and other non-kin support Peer contact Good school experiences Positive adult role models (Daniel and Wassell, 2002)

Resilience is best viewed as a process rather than an outcome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r8hj72bfGo

Activity On a piece of paper, write a timeline for the last month or year, highlighting ups and downs. Looking at the downs (and thinking about your personal qualities and the wider environment): What helped you to cope during these times? What personal strengths did you draw on to get through this situation? How would you feel if you were confronted with the same situation again now?

Building Resilience : 3 strands Building a sense of mastery and self efficacy Offering supportive relationships and support to develop social skills and social problem solving Develop the self awareness and capacity to regulate emotion

Approaches to Intervention Risk-focused Process-focused Asset-focused Yates and Masten, 2004

Interventions Neumann (2004) states that resilience can be built by: Strong social support networks Committed mentor from outside of the family Positive school experiences A sense of mastery and belief in the value of one’s efforts Participation in extra-curricular activities Re-framing adversities to highlight the positives as well as the negatives The opportunities to make a difference by helping others Be exposed to challenging situations which will help to develop coping skills (reasonable levels of risk) and self-esteem Part time work: encourage motivation, confidence and competence Make contact with others who could provide opportunities for work Teach coping strategies Modify features of the environment that are causing difficulties

Growth Mindsets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUA7kZL7r0M

Resilience Rucksack Can be used with individual pupils to make a personalised ‘Resilience Rucksack’; Can be used as part of a classroom-wide or whole-school approach and presented on display boards. ACTIVITY

Video to show pupils https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FDyiUEn8Vw

Ann S.Masten “What began as a quest to understand the extraordinary has revealed the power of the ordinary. Resilience does not come from rare and special qualities, but from the everyday magic of ordinary, normative human resources in the minds, brains, and bodies of children, in their families and relationships, and in their communities”.

What about our own resilience?

How our environment shapes resilience

The concept of resilience is essentially giving us the message that, given the right soil, children will grow as naturally as plants do.

Useful websites for Resilience https://youngminds.org.uk/what-we-do/our-projects/academic-resilience/#getting-started:-the-youngminds-approach-to-building-resilience-in-your-school https://www.amie.org.uk/system/files_force/publication-files/amie-resilience-web.pdf?download=1 https://www.barnardos.org.uk/bouncing_back_resilience_march09.pdf http://www.barnardos.org.uk/what_works_in_building_resilience__-_summary_1_.pdf https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/media/3420/resilience_in_children_in_young_people.pdf https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/risks-and-protective-factors/