What Protects Teenagers from Engaging in Early Unprotected Sex, Violence, Drug and Alcohol Use and Suicide? Resiliency Research Report conducted by Hope.

What Protects Teenagers from Engaging in Early Unprotected

Sex, Violence, Drug and Alcohol Use and Suicide?

• Resiliency Research Report conducted by Hope Enterprises/RFSO in collaboration with the CHANGE project funded by USAID

PROMOTING POSITIVE AND HEALTHY BEHAVIOUR

To see all children as “at promise” rather than “at risk” is a fundamental shift that means teaching rather than fixing,pointing to health rather than dysfunction.”

STOP TO START

• STOP using drugs!• STOP drinking!• STOP having sex!• STOP being violent!• STOP feeling depressed!

• START DOING WHAT ?? • The resilient adolescent is one who prays well,

works well, plays well and expects well.

RESILIENCY

• Resilience, youth development, building social capital,developmental assets all represent the same positive approach.

• All variations on the developmental theme of meeting adolescents’ need for love and belonging,respect, identity, power, and meaning.

RESILIENCY RESEARCH

• Growing body of research that provides evidence of both external and internal factors that protect adolescents from engaging in health risk behaviour

• the precise nature of the network of relationships between risk and resilience are topics of ongoing investigation.

RESEARCH QUESTION

The provision of environmental supports and opportunities, defined as external assets: caring relationships, high expectations and opportunities for meaningful participation will engage the adolescent’s innate resilience and promote positive outcomes in many aspects of behaviour.

Youth Development Conceptual Model

INTERNAL

ASSETSIImmpprroovveeddHHeeaalltthh,,SSoocciiaall &&AAccaaddeemmiiccOOuuttccoommeess

Safety

Love

Belonging

Respect

Mastery

Challenge

Power

Meaning

EXTERNAL

ASSETS

YOUTH NEEDS

Home

Caring Adult Relationships

High Expectations

Meaningful Participation

Community


High Expectations


Cooperation &

Communication

Empathy

Problem Solving

Self-Efficacy

Self-Awareness

Goals & Aspirations

Peer


High Expectations

School


High Expectations


Troubles

Healthy childHealthy adolescent

Healthy adult

RESILIENCIES

CHILDPathology

CHALLENGE MODEL

Challenges Rebounds

SuccumbsDamages

SURVEY DESIGN and ADMINISTRATION

• Instrument adapted from the CHKS, West Ed Corporation,California.

• Identified 13 external and 6 internal assets measured using 61 questions.

• Enumeration districts were randomly selected and all households within each cluster visited-1004 adolescents between 12-16 were interviewed.

GENDER DISTRIBUTION

52%48%

Male

Female

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

12 13 14 15 16 Missing

Age

AGE DISTRIBUTION

BACKGROUND DATA

• 52% Male

• 48% Female

• 12-16 yr olds(Sample skewed to younger age)

• 97% currently in school

• 78% living with one or both parents

• 5 out of 10 attending church

• 53% with piped water in house,

• 58% pit latrine

• 97% radio, 90% T.V, 50% phone

EXTERNAL ASSETS• External assets measured in school, home,

community and peer environments.

• CARING RELATIONSHIPS: supportive connections to others in the adolescents life who model and support healthy development and well-being.

• HIGH EXPECTATIONS: consistent communication of direct and indirect messages that the adolescent can and will succeed.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

• Outside my home and school, in the community there is an adult….

– who expects me to follow the rules.

– who always wants me to do my best.

– who believes that I will be a success.

EXTERNAL ASSETS, CONT’D MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION:

The involvement of adolescents in relevant, engaging and interesting activities, which provide opportunities for responsibility and contribution. This fulfils the fundamental need for persons to have some amount of control and ownership over their lives.

CARING RELATIONSHIPS• Eg In my home there is a parent……..

– who is interested in my school work.

– who pays attention to me.

– who talks to me about my problems.

– who listens to me when I have something to say.

– who I trust.

– who helps me when I’m having a hard time.

– who notices when I’m not there.

MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION

• I do interesting activities at school.

• I help make decisions with my family.

• I do helpful things at school.

• I am involved in organised activities to help others.

• I am part of a club, sports team, church group, etc.

Figure A:Overall Asset Scores: Home Environment

1

13

1

13

1

79

74

26

32

80

20

13

73

55

19

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Caring rel.Parents Highexpectations:Parents

MeaningfulParticipation

Pe

rce

nt

of

Ad

ole

sc

en

ts

Low Moderate High

INTERNAL ASSETS

• Cooperation and Communication:– Having flexibility in relationships, the ability to

work effectively with others, to effectively exchange information and ideas and to express feelings and needs to others.

• Self Efficacy:– The belief in one’s own competence and feeling

one has the power to make a difference. Related to task mastery, the sense of doing something well, having the ability to act and exert ones will.

INTERNAL ASSETS cont’d• Empathy:

– The understanding and caring about another’s experiences and feelings, is considered essential to healthy development and the root of morality and mutual respect.

• Problem Solving:– Includes the ability to plan, to be resourceful, to think critically,

reflectively and creatively examine multiple perspectives before making a decision or taking action.

• Self Awareness: – Knowing and understanding ones self.

• Goals and Aspirations: – Using one’s dreams,visions and plans to focus the future, to have

high expectations and hope for one’s self.

RISK BEHAVIOURS

• The prevalence of the following risk behaviours were measured:– Early, unprotected sex– Cigarette, marijuana and alcohol use– Violent and suicidal behaviour

SEXUAL BEHAVIOURS 44% of boys and 16% of girls age 12-16

reported having had sexual intercourse

– 15% reported having sex before age 10

– Three sexual partners on average

– 9% of girls had been pregnant

– 57% reported condom use , <5% used another method

DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE

6% reported having ever smoked ganja- 3% among 12 yr olds, 13% among 16 yr olds, M>F

– 2% reported binge drinking(5 or more drinks at any one time).

– One in 12 smoked cigarette at least three times in the past one month.

VIOLENT BEHAVIOUR

One in 5 adolescents (20%) carried at least one weapon

– 4% carried a gun, 16% carried a knife, 8% some other. – M>F likely to carry weapon (28%vs11%) 29% had

been involved in a fight involving a weapon.– Recent smokers of ganja were significantly more likely

to engage in violent behaviour.

DEPRESSIVE/SUICIDAL BEHAVIOUR

10% of adolescents felt so sad that their life was not worth living often or always

– 1.7% almost always thought about hurting or killing someone.

– 14.5% thought about committing suicide in the past 12 months.

– 8% had actually attempted suicide .

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RISK AND RESILIENCE

The following charts show the relationship between assets and early sexual activity, condom use, violence, drug and alcohol use and suicide

Adolescents with opportunities for meaningful participation with parents in the home and in the community were significantly less likely to engage in sexual initiation.

Chart 2Sexual Risk Behavior: Ever Had

Sex By Home Environment(Parent)

29 30 3126 28 27

57 5764

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Caring Relationships High Expectations Meaningful participation (home)

Low Moderate High

*

* P<0.05

Chart 3Sexual Risk Behaviour: Ever Had

Sex(School)

29 30 3132 28 28

445050

0

20

40

60

80

Caring Relationships High Expectations Meaningful participation

Low Moderate High

32 33 34

28 29

23

28 27

16

0

10

20

30

40

50

60


Chart 3Sexual Risk Behaviour: Ever Had Sex

(Community)

Total External assets did not show any significant relationship to condom use at last intercourse. High expectations among peers was however found to be a significant factor in terms of increasing condom use at last intercourse.

Chart 6Sexual Risk Behaviour: Did Not Use Condom

at Last Intercourse

4437

43

34

4843

0 0

40

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


Low Moderate High

School

45 45 4438

42 4344

33

0

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


Community

* P<0.05

Adolescents with high expectations and opportunities for meaningful participation in the community environment were less likely to have engaged in marijuana use.

All three factors: high caring relationships, high expectations and opportunities for meaningful participation were significantly related to lower cigarette use.

Those adolescents with high levels of external assets were found to be significantly less likely to carry a weapon.

Adolescents with high expectations in the home and opportunities for meaningful participation at school and in the community were significantly less likely to have engaged in a physical fight.

Chart 17Violent Behavior: Have Carried a Weapon by Home Environment

(Parent)

18

29

202216 17

73

5757

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Caring Relationships High Expectations Meaningful participation(home)

% R

ep

ort

ing

Ris

k B

eh

av

iou

r

Low Moderate High* P<0.05

* **

Chart 18Violent Behavior: Ever Carried a Weapon

1923 2223

16 17

50

17 18

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

CaringRelationships

High Expectations Meaningfulparticipation

% R

ep

ort

ing

Ris

k B

eh

av

iou

r

Low Moderate High

School

2123 23

15 16 15

2824

16

05

101520253035404550

CaringRelationships

High Expectations Meaningfulparticipation

% R

ep

ort

ing

Ris

k B

eh

av

iou

r Community

* *

*

*

* P<0.05

Adolescents who enjoyed high expectations in the home and among peers, caring relationships at school and opportunities for meaningful participation in the community were significantly less likely to have thoughts of killing themselves (suicidal ideation).

CONCLUSION

The Jamaica research data clearly shows an overall protective effect of caring relationships, high expectations and opportunities for meaningful participation at home, school or in the community on engaging in high risk behaviour. Both risk behaviour and their protective factors are interrelated and mutually reinforcing.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

“When we speak of youth development we must be able to articulate not just what we are trying to prevent but what we are trying to promote. Being problem free is not the same as being fully prepared!”

NEXT STEPS

To apply resiliency approach to USAID Reproductive Health Objectives, select domains that protect against early sex and unprotected sex and build into intervention programming.

Planned Activities• Adolescent parenting program – 10 to 15

rovers.• Meaningful participation (peer-to-peer

mentoring).• Collaboration with adolescent clinic.• ? Funding for integration/evaluation.• ? To scale.• ? Develop appropriate indicators of

protection.

What Protects Teenagers from Engaging in Early Unprotected Sex, Violence, Drug and Alcohol Use and Suicide? Resiliency Research Report conducted by Hope.

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