Search results for ‘Subject term:"young people"’ Sort:
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Transformative practice: social work practice with vulnerable young people
- Authors:
- MUNFORD Robyn, SANDERS Jackie
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 24(4), 2021, pp.720-731.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Social workers across the globe are being challenged to provide meaningful support to young people who face multiple challenges. Drawing on the findings of a longitudinal study of vulnerable young people’s transitions to adulthood, this article explores the key elements of effective social work practice with vulnerable young people. The young people (aged between 12 and 17 at the first interview) had experienced chronic exposure to adversity from an early age (violence, poverty, addictions, mental health issues and exclusion from school). They were clients of statutory and non-governmental services: child welfare, youth justice, remedial education, and mental health services. This article draws on the qualitative phase of the study (n = 107); young people and a trusted other participated in three annual qualitative interviews. Interviews focused on young people’s experiences of services, transitions, relationships, and the strategies they used to locate resources and support. The article presents young people’s perspectives on services and support and identifies the elements that constitute practice which can be transformative for young people. Central to this practice are relational social work practices which underline the significance of authentic and respectful helping partnerships in realising positive change and futures for vulnerable young people. (Edited publisher abstract)
Harnessing resistance in interventions with young people
- Authors:
- MUNFORD Robyn, SANDERS Jackie
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work Practice, 31(1), 2017, pp.79-93.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This article draws on the findings from the qualitative phase of a New Zealand longitudinal study concerning vulnerable young people’s transitions to adulthood. The young people, aged between 12 and 17 at the time of the first interview had sustained exposure to harm (abuse, violence, addictions, disengagement from school and mental health issues) and were clients of statutory and non-governmental services including: child welfare services, juvenile justice services, remedial education services and mental health services. Qualitative interviews explored young people’s experiences of services, their key transitions, their coping capacities, and the strategies they used to locate support and resources to mitigate the effects of harmful events and environments. There were three stages to the qualitative phase of the study; this article draws on the interviews from stage one and two. It explores the idea of resistance which emerged as a key theme in the data analysis. Three thematic clusters are presented: the nature of young people’s resistance; practitioner responses to resistance; and harnessing resistance in interventions. The article concludes with a discussion of how social workers and other practitioners can understand resistance and build more responsive and meaningful relationships with vulnerable youth. (Publisher abstract)
The 'right time': negotiating the timing of interviews with vulnerable young people
- Authors:
- URRY Yvonne, SANDERS Jackie, MUNFORD Robyn
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Youth Studies, 18(3), 2015, pp.291-304.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Participant retention is a key factor in determining the success of longitudinal research. This article explores the process of retaining vulnerable youth in longitudinal research using a relational framework characterised as negotiating the ‘right time’ for each young person to be interviewed. The longitudinal study involved vulnerable young people and their transition into adulthood. Embedded in the ‘right time’ framework is recognition of the diverse and fluctuating circumstances that shape young people's availability for interviews. Several case examples are considered which amplify the way that the ‘right time’ framework allowed the research to navigate around these circumstances. The case examples highlight the value young people attached to being involved in the research, the influence on the ‘right time’ of wider relational tensions for young people and the need to negotiate researcher status as a different sort of adult. The ‘right time’ framework contributed to a high retention rate in the study generating a more representative sample and enhancing the subsequent data analysis by providing valuable insights into the lives of these vulnerable young people. (Edited publisher abstract)
Enhancing outcomes for children and young people: the potential of multi-layered interventions
- Authors:
- SANDERS Jackie, MUNFORD Robyn, MADEN Bruce
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 31(10), October 2009, pp.1086-1091.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
The way in which multi-layered interventions contribute to enhanced outcomes for families and neighbourhoods is examined. Adopting an inclusive definition of outcomes, it will build on recent work by the work recently articulated by V. Manalo and Morison Dore, Feldman, and Winnick Gelles on the value of combining a range of parent support and development initiatives, early childhood care and education and community-based initiatives. In particular it will consider the potential of programs that blend early childhood education (those provided by qualified teachers and parent educators), parent development (broadly conceived) and community development practice (including community regeneration and adult education) for enhancing outcomes for stressed and vulnerable children and young people. It will consider the case of a neighbourhood-based community centre which has adopted this broad-based approach to support focusing on indicators of success in delivery and outcomes.
Losing self to the future?: young women's strategic responses to adulthood transitions
- Authors:
- SANDERS Jackie, MUNFORD Robyn
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Youth Studies, 11(3), June 2008, pp.331-346.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
The multiple and conflicting identity pressures that young women in western society face have been remarked upon in the literature. Adolescence is a time when identity development activity intensifies, and this process can present young people with challenges. In this paper a social constructionist and interpretive frame is applied to such challenges faced by young women, arguing that they are refracted through socially constructed lenses that operate at a range of levels from the structural to the individual. The paper considers the experiences of two different cohorts of young females who participated in research based in two provincial communities in New Zealand. It explores the way in which both groups appeared to segment their sense of self into a present and a future self, emphasising relationship; the key source of their current sense of well-being in the present, and juxtaposing this with an independent, autonomous self in the future for whom relationships appeared to assume secondary importance. Findings from two studies are examined to identify the ways in which younger females articulate their imagined futures. Rather than seeing their imagined futures as predictive, or constituting a type of plan that they expected to work towards, the authors see these future narratives as expressing their understanding of their present time worlds and the possibilities they see for girls and young women like themselves.
Drawing out strengths and building capacity in social work with troubled young women
- Authors:
- MUNFORD Robyn, SANDERS Jackie
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 13(1), February 2008, pp.2-11.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper compares the experiences of a group of marginalized young women with two groups that remained socially engaged. Drawing from a qualitative study of young women aged between 13 and 15 years, the authors identify four areas (understandings and experiences of well-being, use of space, making wishes, and emotional and household labour) that illuminated the ways in which marginalized young women articulated their experiences differently from those young women who were still engaged in mainstream social life. Drawing on Ungar's work the authors consider the ways in which marginalized behaviours, which are typically interpreted as socially disruptive and troubled, can also be read as efforts by young women to create a consistent set of social meanings in their lives and to cement reliable relationships around them. Rather than wholly negative, it is suggested that these socially disruptive and troubled behaviours should be understood as having health-enhancing qualities, given the wider contextual challenges the young women faced, and as being the best choices they could make given their circumstances. Social work and support that assists young women on the margins needs to actively engage with these health-enhancing qualities and to come to a sensitized understanding of the way in which these young women understand their interpersonal worlds.
Activity and reflection: research and change with diverse groups of young people
- Authors:
- SANDERS Jackie, MUNFORD Robyn
- Journal article citation:
- Qualitative Social Work, 4(2), June 2005, pp.197-209.
- Publisher:
- Sage
There is a growing interest in expanding the agendas of research, policy and practice by the direct inclusion of young people so that these groups can contribute meaningfully to developments and decision-making. This article outlines a strategy for generating information with young people about their daily lives and the intersection between these sorts of experiences and broader patterns of inclusion and exclusion. Discussion applies eco-map and social network techniques from social work practice, city mapping strategies from geography and interview strategies from qualitative methods. It also includes a new strategy: the daily life story technique developed in conjunction with young people. These strategies provide a framework for managing conversations about experience, meaning and possible futures. Discussion illustrates the way in which a range of different strategies can be combined so that an interview can become a rich source of varied information about meaning, context, experience, events, places and the intersections and interactions between them can be explained.
The impact of childhood stressful life events on health and behavior in at-risk youth
- Authors:
- SANDERS Jackie, MUNFORD Robyn, BODEN Joseph
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 85, 2018, pp.117-126.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
This paper draws on data from a longitudinal study of over 500 vulnerable adolescents to examine the extent to which levels of individual externalising risk behaviours (risky or unsafe behaviours) changed over time, as well as which fixed and time-dynamic factors predicted changes in these risk levels over time. Over time absolute levels of risky behaviours decreased but remained above normative levels. Of all the predictors, being excluded from school and associating with an anti-social peer group were the strongest and most consistent predictors of these behaviours. Other factors predicted changes in one or more of the three risk measures used, suggesting that each risk factor may reflect challenges youth face in different domains of their lives. Implications of these findings for service delivery are discussed. (Edited publisher abstract)
Negotiating and constructing identity: social work with young people who experience adversity
- Authors:
- MUNFORD Robyn, SANDERS Jackie
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 45(5), 2015, pp.1564-1580.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article explores the experiences of at-risk young people. Based on a mixed-methods study of young people (n = 605) aged between thirteen and seventeen who used multiple services (child welfare, youth justice, education support and mental health), this article focuses on their processes of identity negotiation and construction. These young people had experienced sustained exposure to harm including abuse, violence, addictions, disengagement from school and mental health issues. The article considers how services worked to support positive identity development. Three key themes emerged as being significant in contributing to positive identity development: seeking safe and secure connections; finding opportunities to test out identities; and building a sense of agency. The research findings delineate a key role for social workers in supporting young people to mediate their social worlds and create meaning which is at the centre of identity negotiation and construction processes. (Publisher abstract)
The role of positive youth development practices in building resilience and enhancing wellbeing for at-risk youth
- Authors:
- SANDERS Jackie, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse and Neglect, 42, 2015, pp.40-53.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Services that utilise positive youth development practices (PYD) are thought to improve the quality of the service experience leading to better outcomes for at-risk youth. This article reports on a study of 605 adolescents (aged 12–17 years) who were concurrent clients of two or more service systems (child welfare, juvenile justice, additional education, mental health). It was hypothesised that services adopting PYD approaches would be related to increases in youth resilience and better wellbeing outcomes. It was also hypothesised that risks, resilience, service experiences and wellbeing outcomes would differ by age, gender and ethnicity. Youth completed a self-report questionnaire administered individually. Path analysis was used to determine the relationship between risk, service use, resilience and a wellbeing outcome measure. MANOVA was then used to determine patterns of risk, service use, resilience and wellbeing among participants based on their demographic characteristics. Services using PYD approaches were significantly related to higher levels of youth resilience. Similarly, increased resilience was related to increased indicators of wellbeing, suggesting the mediating role of resilience between risk factors and wellbeing outcomes. When professionals adopt PYD practices and work with the positive resources around youth (their own resilience processes) interventions can make a significant contribution to wellbeing outcomes for at-risk youth.