IYD

Integrative Youth Development

Integrative Youth Development is from Derek Peterson. He was the keynote speaker at the AADAC Coalitions Connect 2007.

During this session Derek Peterson presented the Seven Factors of Integrative Youth Development (IYD)

What is Integrative Youth Development (IYD):

• IYD takes the best of the youth development research to focus on each individual youth. • IYD presents a framework for individual youth development within the context of his/her environment. • The framework demonstrates the role individual traits, talents and characteristics play within the conditions provided by family, school, community, and culture.

Youth Development – What does it take to succeed

• Options – what choices are available? • Resiliency – ability to bounce back • Ability to learn from mistakes • Social support

What are the 7 Factors:

Factor #1 - Rule of Five - every young person needs at least five people (anchors) who care about, guide, and have high expectations of him/her, within a circle of support. -Jane Howard said, “Some call it a family, others a tribe. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, everybody needs one.” - Belonging and attachment

Factor #2 - Tangible Support (a.k.a. strings or straps) - the conditions, structures, and supports that adults provide for the young person. (His/Her environment.)

Factor # 3 - Intangible Support (a.k.a. strings or straps) - the attitudes, values, traditions and beliefs that the young person picks up, or absorbs, from the circle of support.

Factor #4 - Innate Resilience - building up the young person, so they are "big enough" to be supported by the web, and “stick” to the people in the circle. - innate talents, gifts and intelligences of a child - Gender (Girls tend to have more innate resilience than boys), Positive Social Orientation, Faith, Optimism, Valued intelligences (rather than ask, “how smart are you?” ask, “How are you smart?” all contributors to innate resilience

Factor # 5 - Reducing Cuts to the web – attitudes, behaviors, or trauma that interfere and compete with the Tangible and Intangible Supports. Influences that affect the web include: - home alone – 2 hours or more - hedonistic values - TV over exposure (3 hours or more/day) - Negative peer pressure - Physical abuse - Sexual abuse - Parental addiction

Factor # 6 - Supporting the Anchors - supporting the people who anchor the web (the adults who hold the strings.)

- Influences that affect the anchors: - divorce without supporting the kids - death - job change - institutionalization - estrangement - prison - program cuts

Factor # 7 - Social Norms - the cultural shifts that blow across a web, causing chaos to the young person, and blowing him/her out of the circle, and off course. Examples of cultural shifts include: - change in economy - presence of drugs/alcohol in vicinity - shifting values and norms in community - xenophobia