Integrating a youth participation model in a youth mental health service: Challenges and lessons learned

Youth participation in mental health settings is fundamental to service design and delivery, and is beneficial for the young people involved as well as the organisation. This paper presents the findings of an evaluation of a youth participation model where tiered participation was attempted in a clinical youth mental health setting. To inform the ongoing development and improvement of a youth participation model, an evaluation was conducted consisting of three focus groups with the youth consultants, consultations with management about the implementation of the tiered participation model, and a review of records. The purpose of this evaluation was to identify possible barriers to implementation early on so these could be addressed and a youth participation model that meets the needs of all key stakeholders could be developed. The findings of this evaluation and the way in which these findings informed the model's development are discussed.     

Longitudinal Outcomes for Youth Receiving Runaway/Homeless Shelter Services

This research examined outcomes and use of specific types of services 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months post-discharge for a large sample of runaway/homeless youth using crisis shelter services. Data were collected for 371 runaway/homeless youth using emergency shelter and crisis services at eleven agencies across a four-state midwestern region. Outcomes were assessed for runaway behavior, family relationships, substance use, school behavior, employment, sexual behavior, and self-esteem. Additionally, the impact of services on outcomes was assessed. Findings indicated that although youth achieved a wide variety of positive outcomes 6 weeks post-discharge, there were signs of attenuation of certain outcomes by the 6 month follow-up. Service use after discharge did not demonstrate a strong impact on maintaining outcomes. The substantive findings reported here present encouraging evidence for providers of services for runaway/homeless youth. Crisis shelter services appear to facilitate broad-based short-term gains, but do not appear sufficient to maintain these gains over an extended period.     

Factors that Influence Mental Health Stigma Among 8th Grade Adolescents

Unmet mental health need is a significant problem for adolescents. Although stigma is identified as a major barrier to the use of mental health services among youth, there is limited research on this topic. In-depth interviews (n=57) among a sample of 8th grade students in a suburban, mid-Atlantic community portray adolescent mental health attitudes and how these views are shaped. Satisfactory personal experiences with mental health services as well as accurate mental health knowledge contribute to positive mental health attitudes among teens. The anticipation of negative responses towards mental health care-seeking from family members, peers, and school staff are key factors in teens’ comfort and willingness to address mental health concerns. The research provides critical information on the factors that contribute to the development of stigma and emphasizes the need to address stigma in youth mental health education, programs, and treatment plans. Authors are affiliated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Population and Family Health Sciences. Dr. Chandra has a background in adolescent health, and is particularly interested in improving the accessibility and appropriateness of youth mental health services and involving young people in the translation of research into practice. Dr. Minkovitz is interested in improving preventive service delivery, enhancing quality of care, and understanding maternal factors that influence children’s receipt of health care     

Bridging the gender gap in agricultural development through gender responsive extension and rural advisory services delivery in Ghana

Despite the critical role women play in agricultural development their access to extension and rural advisory services delivery is limited. To improve this situation, an in-depth understanding of the importance of gender-responsive extension delivery is required. A case study of the Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement Program that put in extra efforts to reach more female farmers with extension delivery and other rural advisory services was conducted. The study investigates how gender dynamics interact with the agricultural extension delivery with particular reference to the adoption of improved technologies. A total sample of 592 smallholder farmers were interviewed in selected communities in Northern Ghana. In addition to one-on-one interviews, 18 focus group discussions were also conducted in the surveyed districts. Study findings confirmed that male farmers had more access to agricultural extension delivery than their female counterparts because of their relatively better financial standing, large farm sizes, mobility to access extension and rural advisory service providers outside their communities. The study identified gendered associations with some crop types across all the study districts. However, the gendered extension delivery led to a new sociocultural order that seems to break down the gendered associations with the adoption of improved technologies.     

共青团借力个案工作与共青团工作独特性的保持——以A团委“青春邀约”大访谈活动为例

"青春邀约"大访谈系列活动是A团委打造的重要工作品牌。在活动中,团干部对个案工作加以利用,包括对专业个案工作人员的使用以及对个案工作方法技巧的学习和使用。"找得到人、说得上话、交得了心、办得成事、聚得了力"是邀约五部曲,在"接案、收集资料与预估、制定与实施服务计划、结案与评估以及督导"等个案工作步骤均有体现。"青春邀约"高度重视保共青团工作独特性,在价值引导工作、对象锚定工作、工作期限以及组织建设工作等方面突出共青团的特色。     

Just Another Club? The Distinctiveness of the Relation Between Religious Service Attendance and Adolescent Psychosocial Adjustment

This study used hierarchical linear modeling to compare longitudinal patterns of adolescent religious service attendance and club attendance, and to contrast the longitudinal relations between adolescent adjustment and religious service versus club attendance. Participants included 1050 students (47% girls) encompassing a school district in Canada, who completed the survey first in grade nine and again in grades 11 and 12. Results demonstrated that patterns of religious service attendance over time were quite different from other clubs. Religious attendance was uniquely associated with several indicators of positive as well as negative adjustment. Club involvement, conversely, was only associated with positive adjustment––particularly for individuals who reported sustained involvement over time. Findings suggest that religious services may provide some unique experiences––both positive and negative––over and above what may be provided in other clubs, and that sustained, rather than sporadic participation in clubs, may be especially important for adolescent adjustment.

Characteristics and Co-occurrence of Adolescent Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Suicidal Behaviours in Pediatric Emergency Crisis Services

During the potentially tumultuous adolescent period, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts are relatively common, particularly amongst youth who present to mental health services. These phenomena frequently co-occur but their relationship is unclear. This study evaluated clinical data from 468 youth between the ages of 12 and 17 years (63.5% female) to determine the incidence of NSSI 24 h prior to presentation at emergency crisis services, evaluated the overlap between NSSI and suicide attempt, and examined the characteristics of different types of self-harm. Half of the adolescents presenting to emergency crisis services had self-harmed within the previous 24 h, with most of these (91%) classified as NSSI only. The percentage of youth with a suicide attempt was 5% and the co-occurrence of these two behaviours was 4%. Group differences in depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation and impulsivity were identified, with the co-occurring NSSI and suicide attempt group presenting with the highest level of psychopathology. This study underscores the necessity of assessing suicidal ideation and NSSI in all youth presenting to mental health services.     

The Impact of Emotional Disturbances on the Arrest Trajectories of Youth as They Transition into Young Adulthood

This article identifies the arrest trajectories of youth from ages 12 through 24 years old and tests hypotheses derived from Moffitt’s developmental taxonomic theory of crime concerning the impact of various emotional disturbances on the specific trajectories of the youth involved. The study uses exclusively administrative data sets and includes a gender and racially diverse sample of 10,360 youth (30.7 % females) who were arrested at least once between ages 12 and 24 in the early 2000s. Latent class growth analysis was employed in order to identify distinct arrest trajectories of youth in the sample. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify diagnostic and other characteristics associated with membership in the specific trajectories predicted by Moffitt’s theory. Five trajectory classes were identified, 3 of which were consistent with taxonomic theory including high and classic adolescence limited trajectory classes and a “snared adolescence limited class” described more recently by Moffitt. The distribution of youth among the 5 classes was very different for those with and without emotional disturbances. Youth with emotional disturbances in their late adolescent years were more likely to fall into the high arrest trajectory class and much less likely to fall into the low arrest trajectory class. Compared to youth without an emotional disturbance, youth with psychotic disorders were more than twice as likely to fall into the high as into the low arrest trajectory class. Youth with disruptive behavior disorders were more than twice as likely to fall into the high and intermediate classes as into the low trajectory class. Anxiety and depressive disorders were not associated with significantly greater likelihood of falling into any one of the trajectory classes. Youth in the snared adolescence limited class were more likely than those in the classic adolescence limited class to be male, black versus white and in the foster care enrollment category lending some support to Moffitt’s conceptualization of this class as an adolescence limited class composed of youth who are snared by involvement in the criminal justice and or social services systems. Implications of these results for public policy and the study of adolescence are discussed.     

Attitudes toward mental health services among homeless and matched housed youth

Homeless youth experience high rates of mental health problems yet they under-utilize mental health services. The present study surveyed 56 homeless youth and 97 matched at-risk housed youth on their attitudes toward mental health services, and investigated the link between social support and attitudes. Results showed groups shared similar neutral to positive attitudes. Higher levels of social support were associated with increased positive attitudes toward services. Further analyses found that lesbian/gay/bisexual/questioning youth held more positive attitudes compared to heterosexual youth. Implications of the current study can assist service providers with eliminating barriers and increasing mental health service use.     

Organizational factors that contribute to youth workers' promotion of youth voice

The term youth voice has been identified as a mechanism that helps youth who are participating in out-of-school time programs (e.g., 4-H, Boys & Girls Club, Big Brother/Big Sister) achieve successful outcomes such as improved academic and social functioning. Youth voice promotion is commonly enacted in out-of-school time programs when youth workers extend opportunities to youth to provide feedback and make key program decisions. To date, scant research has focused on organizational factors that contribute to program staff (e.g., youth workers) willingness to promote youth voice. A structural equation model using person-environment fit theory within a Positive Youth Development theory framework was constructed to test organizational factors that contribute to youth voice promotion among youth workers. Data from 569 frontline youth workers within out-of-school time programs across the United States indicated that youth workers' abilities to form positive relationships with youth, professional efficacy, and ability to make decisions in their own jobs directly predicted youth workers' endorsement of youth voice. In addition, positive relationships partially mediated the effects of professional efficacy on youth voice promotion. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

新时期京津冀公共服务多元化协同供给机制建设

公共服务的多元化供给是实现区域经济高质量发展的战略支撑.为了补齐京津冀公共服务供给短板、增强公共服务供给弱项、提升公共服务供给质量,满足京津冀城乡居民对美好生活的向往,深化三地公共服务供给侧改革,建立以京津冀协同发展需求为中心的多元化公共服务供给协同机制尤为必要.基于对京津冀公共服务供给的分析,本研究提出新时期应通过深...     

公共服务的发展与劳动关系公共服务

我国劳动关系公共服务是与劳动关系市场化进程相伴而行的。劳动关系公共服务的目标空间是促进劳动关系规范的建立、有序运行、合理调整和矛盾化解。为了更好地提供劳动关系公共服务,在内容设计方面,应做好公共服务的内涵界定、服务主体转换、服务边界设定、服务项目设计、服务项目确定等工作;在供给机制方面,应采用政府主导下的间接供给方式,即由政府委托或与市场及社会组织合作,提供公共服务;在评估机制方面,应将数量、实施效果、公平性等因素进行综合考量,加强过程监管与评估验收,以确保公共服务供给绩效。     

Configurations of Identity Among Sexual Minority Youth: Context,Desire, and Narrative

Youth with same-sex desire undergo a process of narrative engagement as they construct configurations of identity that provide meaning and coherence with available sexual taxonomies. This article presents a theoretical analysis and four case studies centering on the relationship among context, desire, and identity for youth with same-sex desire. Through an interpretive, holistic analysis of the personal narratives of youth, we examine the integration of same-sex desire, behavior, and identity in the general life story and the selective appropriation of elements of “master narratives” of sexual identity development. Narratives were characterized by challenges to integrate desire, behavior, and identity into a configuration that conformed to the received sexual taxonomy. Implications for theory and further research on sexual identity development are discussed.     

Chapter 7. “Learn What You Like and Like What You Learn”

Abstract

Mark Twain once famously quipped, “I never let schooling get in the way of my education.” Paul Simon, the American folk singer, begins one of his songs “When I think back on all the crap I learned at high school, it's a wonder I can hardly think at all.” These men could just have easily been discussing schooling in Ireland, for this is the way many Limerick children and youth felt about formal school life prior to their involvement with St. Augustine's Youth Encounter Project. But it is prior to their involvement.

This chapter provides a demographic profile of the pupils of that project and explores aspects of the day-to-day life of the project as a child and youth care intervention by examining some of the influences of risk replacement or resiliency projects that have influenced provision of services. This Limerick YEP attempts to alter the approach from one that is risk, deficit, and psychopathology-oriented to one that is protection, strength, and asset focussed. A question posed is, “Has the early intervention enrichment programme assisted the pupils to reintegrate successfully within the community?” By reintegrate I mean the ability to attend a regular school, hold a job, live again with their family and such things. This chapter also explores the establishment of the Youth Encounter Projects in Ireland in the context of an important but largely overlooked study completed by Egan and Hegarty over two decades ago (1984). No official review has been published since.     

An Early Community-Based Intervention for the Prevention of Substance Abuse and Other Delinquent Behavior

This paper presents the results of an evaluation of an early intervention, risk-reduction strategy versus a standard intervention approach in the treatment of inner-city youth at high risk of adopting a deviant lifestyle. It examines baseline and 1-year follow-up information provided by 408 youth admitted to 2 community-based Baltimore City Youth Bureaus offering counseling services for neighborhood youth referred for delinquent and other problematic behavior. In the study, one of these bureaus served as the experimental intervention clinic and the other as the control, or standard intervention, clinic. Outcome measures involved substance abuse; sexual activity; contact with juvenile authorities; and delinquent activity, including violence-related activity. Regression analyses of outcome measures revealed significant differential results for delinquent activity, which favored the experimental intervention. Relationships between risk/protective factors and outcome are discussed.     

Can the best interests of young people be met in residential care? An Ireland case study

The search for factors essential to the achievement of congruence in residential youth care services in Ireland led to the discovery of five critical success factors, each of which affects all three organizational levels of such services. These critical factors included: needs-led, not regulation-driven, care; senior managers with workforce responsibility require domain expertise; shared vision and purpose across three organizational levels; practice-led planning and service development; and bureaucratic policies and practices that are congruent with corporate parenting obligations to provide developmental care that serves each child's best interests.     

Norms and Attitudes about Being an Active Bystander: Support for Telling Adults about Seeing Knives or Guns at School among Greater London Youth

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - A detailed understanding of the factors associated with support among youth for reporting a knife or gun at school to an adult is essential to inform violence...     

Invited Commentary: National Safe Place: Meeting the Immediate Needs of Runaway and Homeless Youth

An estimated 1.6 million youth run away from home each year. While on the run, these youth are vulnerable to exploitation, victimization, increased dangers and perpetration of criminal behavior. Runaway and homeless youth are far more likely to engage in substance use and delinquent behavior, drop out of school and suffer from sexually transmitted diseases and mental illness at greater rates than the norm. Timely and direct intervention in runaway and throwaway cases is imperative to protect youth from the high risks of living on the streets. National Safe Place is an outreach and prevention program that is uniquely designed to provide immediate safety and access to services for any youth in need. In partnership with over 360 youth serving agencies and over 10,000 businesses and community organizations across the United States, the Safe Place program educates youth about alternatives to running away and homelessness and provides easily accessible links to service providers. Ongoing data collection indicates that National Safe Place has been successful in reaching endangered youth at risk of abuse, neglect or serious family problems but that expanded program models remain needed. The challenges and successes of current programming and the future of National Safe Place program expansion are discussed.     

Two Systems of Youth Service: Determinants of Voluntary and Required Youth Community Service

Although an increasing number of schools mandate service, this requirement is seen by some as self-contradictory, especially in contrast to voluntary service. Looking closely at the service process, we argue that the categories of required and voluntary, do not in themselves convey the nature of service students might do with implications for the benefits they may derive from service. We report data from students in 2 high schools to support our case. Both schools required service, but one integrated it into the curriculum whereas the other left choice of service to individual students. Students in the former school were more apt to do the kinds of service that engage students cognitively and emotionally and involve them in reflection on politics and morals. Apart from fulfilling their requirement, many of the students also did volunteer service of the kinds that were potentially beneficial. These students were likely to have parents and best friends who also did service and to belong to churches and civic organizations that sponsored or encouraged service as part of an ideological commitment. The data support the idea that required and volunteer service can be usefully viewed as operating according to separate regimens. Nevertheless, both have the potential for yielding benefits when service is viewed as providing youth with opportunities to learn about systems of meaning through participatory action. From the viewpoint of educational policy, schools can help students most when they organize service strategically and integrate service into the academic curriculum.