What matters in communities to reduce substance related harm for our young people?

Community Aspect
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What evidence says about what works?
Strengthening young people’s individual protective factors / Every young person develops skills during their teenage years. Helping our youth to develop the skills they need helps reduce substance related harms. These include:
-Internal locus of control
-Self-esteem
-Social competence
-Decision making skills
Strengthening young people’s relationships and connections / There are several protective factors that buffer the effects of risk factors. Community, whānau, and individual approaches that strengthen these protective factors help reduce the potential for substance related harms. These include:
•Family connectedness
•Open communication with parents
•Parental involvement with school
•Parents being well equipped and resourced to support their teenager
•Parental monitoring
Meaningful relationships are a very strong protective factor for young people. In fact, feeling connected to even one positive adult outside of the family can buffer against the impact of several risk factors
Building young people’s vocational pathway and educational achievement / Staying engaged with education, developing a vocational focus, and building experiences of competence from academic and vocational achievements are all strong protective factors and help with finding a sense of purpose and direction.
We learn through progressive exposure to new ideas or skills. This takes time to experience, reflect, and make our own meaning out of what we have experienced. The more our communities can help our young people to go through this learning cycle, the more effectively they can achieve their developmental tasks.
Effective education on substances and their harms is also important. Successful education is normative, contextual, factual and developmentally appropriate
Creating opportunities for young people to be involved in their community and community development / Young people are a key part of our communities. Active youth participation helps our communities to include young people, and can help to build leadership skill for the young people involved. This can occur in a range of settings from sports and clubs to faith based communities.
The safer that a community is perceived to be, the more likely it is that young people will become involved in the things the community has to offer. This gives them more exposure to different options for their life, and opportunities to engage and develop skills. Conversely, if a community is perceived to be unsafe, they are less likely to attempt new things, and are less likely to learn the associated skills.
Being involved in structured activities helps young people to feel connected to others and to their community. It provides them with things to do, and opportunities to develop both technical skill and social skill.
Making it easy to access support and skilled developmentally appropriate providers when needed. / Some young people need more intensive support. Services can use a youth friendly developmental approach to help young people receive the support they need. This includes being able to proactively support young people who cannot yet see any harms from their substance use.
Sharing expertise and working collaboratively with others is an effective way to help young people to get the right support, no matter who they access.
Support may not necessarily be from a health professional, and fast access can be needed – what is an issue for a young person today may not be tomorrow. Accessing services requires three building blocks, all of which are developmental tasks for teenagers. These are:
  • Skill in identifying when there are issues with their substance use
  • Knowledge of who to go to for appropriate support
  • Skill, motivation, and ability to access support

NCAT Southern regional youth forum – 10 September 2015