Risk protective factors Session 4 Global Youth Network

Risk & protective factors Session 4 Global Youth Network Workshop Needs Assessment & Programme Planning

What are they? w Risk factor: characteristics of an individual/ community that encourage or are linked to substance abuse w Protective factor: characteristics of an individual/ community that discourage or are NOT linked to substance abuse

Individual & environmental w Individual - that are part of the way a person is w Environmental - that are part of the community a person belongs to

Individual risk factors (I) w Being a boy ²More boys than girls use substances, especially illicit, but you need to be careful with underreporting (girls hide use more because it’s less acceptable) w Being young ²To define his/ her personality, a young person could use substances to experiment, or declare his/ her belonging to a group, or relieve anxiety

Individual risk factors (II) w Poor personal and social skills ²Less able to cope & more likely to use substances to ‘solve’ problems or more likely to follow substance use behaviour of peers w Mental health problems ²Problems that make you less able to cope & attract discrimination

Environmental risk factors (I) w FAMILY ²Lack of physical or psychological care ²Inconsistent or too strict parenting ²Problems in the family ²Verbal, physical or sexual abuse ²Substance use w COMMUNITY ²Verbal, physical or sexual abuse ²Substance use in the community, especially by peers (very important, but remember that young people also choose their peers!)

Environmental risk factors (II) w CULTURE ²The culture young people identify with (the lifestyle of a group, religion, traditions) ²The way substance use is portraied in the media ²Advertising w LACK OF OPPORTUNITIES ²To be educated, find an adequate & fulfilling job, employ free time constructively, get help from youth friendly health & social services if you need it

Environmental risk factors (III) w AVAILABILITY OF w LACK OF SUBSTANCES INFORMATION ²Too obvious? ²Too often availability and lack of information are the only risk factors people think about … they are not the end of the story!

Protective factors w The opposite of most risk factors are thought to discourage or to be linked to less substance use, i. e. they are protective ²‘Most’ … you are born with your sex and, partly, your mental health status ²‘Thought’ … Some have been demonstrated to have this effect, but not all ²Not any one factor on its own