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.