ACCENTUATING THE POSITIVE
Malcolm HillUniversity of Strathclyde
RESILIENCE AND DESISTANCEAPPROACHES
WAYS OF SEEINGCHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE
PASSIVE ACTIVE
ROBUST
VULNERABLE THREATENING
VICTIMS
LEARNING COMPETENTDEFICIENT
Sympathetic but critical reviewof
RESILIENCE
&
DESISTANCE
INTEGRATED SERVICES
Benefit from
INTEGRATED THEORY
RESILIENCE DESISTANCE
Care and protection referrals Offence referrals
DOING WELLDESPITE
SEVERE ADVERSITY
CEASING TO OFFEND, TAKE DRUGS ETC.
Developmental problemsPersistence of
problematic behaviour
CAPACITY TO COPE WITH LIFE’S CHALLENGES
e.g. Abuse, Family breakdown, Poverty, Bereavement, Community disasters
e.g. Abuse, Family breakdown, Poverty, Bereavement, Community disasters
RESILIENCE DESISTANCE
Developmental psychology
Child & adolescent psychiatry
Child & family social work
Some education & care settings
Criminology
Sociology
Probation/Criminal justice
Addictions
Mostly children
Also adults and families
Mostly young adults
Also young people
Main settings and scope
Shared Themes
We can learn a lot from understanding how people ‘naturally’ get over or out of problems
Based on studies examining the impact of events, informal supports and opportunities – sometimes alongside professional intervention
The lessons from those who succeed in overcomingadversity and behaviour problems can be applied to
those who have not succeeded (so far)
Belief that individuals need not be trapped by their circumstances and history
Shared Themes
Getting over or out of problems can involvedifferent factors or processes compared with those that ‘caused’ problems in the first place
Resilience / desistance
factors
Risk factors
Psycho-social problems and offending Recovery
Shared Themes
Fit with frameworks that emphasise capacities and resources, rather than deficits
e.g. salutogenesis, health promotion, strengths-based and solution focused-practice
The approaches are positively and/or future oriented in contrast to risk reduction and problem-solving approaches
And social capital……….
Lists of Factors(Resilience)
• Intelligence
• Self-belief
• Humour
• A supporter/advocate/champion
• Involvement in organised activities
Etc. etc. etc.
Interaction ofINDIVIDUAL - FAMILY - COMMUNITY
processes
Resilience is not (usually) about lone, heroic efforts
but
combined efforts, external supports and opportunities
DesistanceInteraction of
PERSONAL OPENNESS TO CHANGE + EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES
Life-stage 1. early teens - weak attachment to negative life-style and
peer group - concern about consequences - ? avoidance of formal processing (Smith)
2. late teens - new friends/mentor/opportunities/meaning- sense of responsibility e.g. partner, child- wish to avoid formal processing- wish to replace ‘damaged’ identity
3. (adulthood)
Resilience & DesistanceNeighbourhood influences
Children in disadvantaged neighbourhoods benefit in safety and behaviour
from access to:
low cost organised and transformative activities
pro-social friendship groups
extended kin with additional resources
opportunities outside the area
TIMING OF INTERVENTIONProchaska and Di Clemente
When people are not committed to change, the focus should be on
engagement and consciousness raising
When they have become genuinely prepared to change, the focus should be on
behaviour change and alternative social relations & identity
When they have changed, the focus should be on
relapse prevention
TIMING OF INTERVENTION
Major life transitions encourage openness to change
Therefore scope for building wider and deeper
resilience capacitiesor
behaviour changes
Assessments should cover actual and potential
strengths/resources – not just risk and need
SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR SERVICES
A key professional role is to work with existing self-
restorative forces and promotepersonal and network resources
The form of intervention takes account of the stage of preparedness to change
Vital elements:
Modifying attitudes and perceptions of self and others
Facilitating links to informal supports/role models
Encouraging activities/social associations that offer skills, trust, alternative identities, responsibility
Helping to take advantage of educational or employment opportunities
Seeking to secure stable accommodation
SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR SERVICES
Drawbacks
For example
Neglecting root causes e.g. poverty, parenting
Over-simple, individualised labels
Implicit blame of the non-resilient and non-desistant
Overlooking the apparently resilient and desistant
Taking credit for successful interventions based on other approaches
AdvantagesFor example
Consistency with holistic, integrated services
Positive orientation energising staff
Service users feeling more respected
Emphasis on partnerships between professionals andinformal helpers –
network members, mentors, volunteers
Highlighting role of services like leisure and careers
CONCLUSIONSFruitful to consider similarities and differences in the ways children and families ‘get out of’’
a) psycho-social problemsb) problematic behaviour
Adds to competence/strengths perspectives
Applicable to a wide range of settings and methods
Complement but should not replace attention to risks, problems and underlying causes
Encourage a creative shift in direction
THANK YOUTHANK YOUTHANK YOUTHANK YOU
Selected ReferencesDaniel, B. and Wassell, S. (2002) The Early Years, School Years, Adolescence, London: Jessica
Kingsley.
Farrall, S. and Maruna, S. (2004) 'Desistance-focused criminal justice policy research. ' The Howard Journal 43(4): 358-367.
Hill, M., Stafford, A., Seaman, P., Ross, N. and Daniel, B. (2007) Parenting and resilience, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Luthar, S. S. (2003) Resilience and Vulnerability: Adaptation in the Context of Childhood Adversities , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McIntosh, J. and McKeganey, N. 2000 'The recovery from dependent drug use’, Drugs: education, prevention and policy 7(2): 179-192.
McNeill, F. and Whyte, B. (2007) Reducing Re-offending, Cullompton: Willan.
Seaman, P., Turner, K., Hill, M., Walker, M. and Stafford, A. (2006) Parenting and Children’s Resilience in Disadvantaged Communities, London: NCB.
Smith, D. J. (2006) Social Inclusion and Early Desistance from Crime. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh.