Improve Outcomes by Developing Young People to be their own Personal Heroes
So I’ve been doing some research lately on how to get the best outcomes for interventions designed to help young people to lead successful lives. As a generation, many young people today face challenges that are far greater than those of previous generations. Some of you will balk at this and some of you will tut, some might even stifle a guffaw. Cue social media image contrasting a 1940’s teenager at war with a millennial getting their feelings hurt. Interestingly, if the young soldier actually survived the war, physically and emotionally, they are likely to be better off because they would have a sense of control over their destiny.
There’s an interesting phenomenon that’s been going on for some decades now. Childhood is both being shortened and lengthened simultaneously. Biologically, largely due to changes in nutrition, childhood is shortened. Children are reaching puberty at a much earlier age, in particular the mean age for girls has been steadily falling for the last 150 years. On the other hand the period of dependence is being artificially inflated in social terms. It used to be that a young person could choose to leave education for work as soon as they were able. And no, I’m not proposing that we send the kids back up chimneys or down mines but if it’s genuinely a choice and matches their skill set then possibly pretty okay. But it’s no longer an option and furthermore, economically young adults are often living with their parents into their thirties if they’ve any chance of eventual financial independence.
One of the most powerful predictors of psychological wellbeing, engagement in learning and motivation in general is the concept of self-determination, or personal leadership. Julian Rotter coined the term locus of control in 1956 and refers to the degree to which a person attributes their outcomes to internal factors (their efforts, their abilities) or external factors (situations or other people). There are measurable differences in people’s locus of control and whilst some of it genetically driven it is also influenced by the environment. In fact, interventions that focus on attributional retraining are extremely successful in a range of outcomes for young people, from academic success to re-offending rates.
So in the absence of a radical shift in social policy, I believe that these types of approaches are even more relevant nowadays as young people increasingly have their independence undermined. Giving young people opportunities to act as their own personal hero is a direct counter balance to falling victim to learned helplessness. So I recommend that you look for evidence-based programs that encourage young people to directly influence their own outcomes, recognise where there influence is limited and take responsibility for how they respond to what life is dealing them