Professionals & Adult Allies
Introduction to Risk and Protective Factors (3 hours)
The Risk and Protective Factors 101 introduces professionals to the basics of positive youth development and prevention science. The presentation covers how to identify problems (e.g., mental distress, substance use, bullying) and possibilities (e.g., mental wellness, prosocial behavior), analyze risk factors and protective factors, and select/implement promoting, protecting and prevention pathways influencing healthy development. Also, participants complete a brief self-assessment on their mindset to determine if they have a promotion or prevention bias. Together, we can intervene upstream before problems harm youth development.
Supporting Youth-Led Change (3 hours)
Adult allies learn the Promotion & Prevention Change model to support youth receiving youth-led promotion & prevention, youth-led resilience, and promotion & prevention leadership programs. The Promotion & Prevention Change Model integrates disparate fields by blending individual-level and systems-level change. The model is based on individuals’ motivation for change using the promotion system or prevention system (Higgins, 1997; Scholer et al., 2019) and a team-based change process for promotion and prevention initiatives (e.g., adapted from SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework). Simply put, our 5-step model guides leaders to examine change across levels, settings, and contexts.