1. Robin Banerjee & Fidelma Hanrahan CRESS lab, University of Sussex F.Hanrahan@sussex.ac.uk CIRCY seminar 21 st September 2015 Creative arts and family coaching interventions with at-risk youths: How and why might they impact the socio-emotional and motivational development of marginalised youths?

2. Background: Youth marginalisation and interventions Behavioural profile associated with disadvantaged backgrounds 1 Future trajectories associated with poor outcomes 2 Interventions to support and re-engage marginalised youth include – those utilising the creative arts 3 – targeted family support 4 1. Daniels et al., 2003; Jimerson, Egeland, Sroufe, & Carlson, 2000; Steer, 2000 2. Coles et al., 2002; DFE, 2012; Henry, Knight, & Thornberry, 2012; SEU, 1999 3. Daykin, Orme, Evans, & Salmon, 2008; Harkins, Pritchard, Haskayne, Watson, & Beech, 2011; Hughes & Wilson, 2004; Kinder & Wilkin, 1998; Wilkin, Gulliver, & Kinder, 2005 4. Boddy, Statham, Warwick, Hollingworth, & Spencer, 2012; Gray, 2003; White, Warrener, Reeves, & La Valle, 2008

3. Self- construals Behaviours and emotions Motivation and aspirations Need fulfilment Social environment Theoretical model of the development of disaffection/engagement (Hanrahan & Banerjee, 2014)

4. To explore and understand the lived experiences of vulnerable young people in Brighton & Hove involved in –creative arts projects –family coach interventions To gain insight into the commonalities and differences in how these interventions support young people To create a quantitative assessment protocol that could be used across interventions with young people to track psychological change To use a mixed-methods approach to achieve these aims –quantitative survey methods –semi-structured interviews Cross-sectional pilot work – study aims

5. Study 1: Assessment Protocol

6. Participants –144 young people in total 41 young people from Brighton & Hove’s Stronger Families, Stronger Communitities (SFSC) programme, and 4 from one Brighton creative arts project (20 male, 24 female, 1 unknown; M = 14.5 years of age, age range = 12 – 18 years) 99 comparison young people from a school and a college in East Sussex (25 male, 72 female, 2 unknown; M age = 15.5 years, range = 13 – 20 years) Method – Assessment Protocol

7. Measures Global Self- Worth Scale (Harter 1988) Affect (I-PANAS-SF) (adapted) (Ebesutani et al., 2012; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) Social Inclusion Scale (adapted) Secker et al. (2009) The General Self-Efficacy Scale (adapted) (Schwarzer, & Jerusalem, 1995) Aspiration Index (Grouzet, Kasser, et al., 2005) Social Environment Self Motivation and cognitions Education and work values Thinking about yourself and how you normally feel, to what extent do you generally feel… e.g. determined, bored How true each statement is for you… e.g. I like the kind of person I am. How important is each statement. In the future… e.g. I will have people who care about me and are supportive; I will have lots of money. How true is each statement: e.g. I can solve most problems if I put in the necessary effort. How important and how likely is each statement. In the future… e.g. I will have a job that I like. How often in the last month have you felt that each statement is true for you… e.g. I have felt that the adults I work with (e.g. social worker, teachers) try to understand my point of view; I have felt supported by my family. Behaviours and emotions

8. Positive Affect Negative Affect Self-worth Self-efficacy -.68.61.51 -.45

9. Self-worth Self-efficacy Education + Work values Intrinsic values.31.25.24 Extrinsic values

10. Social inclusion Self-worth Intrinsic values.54 Extrinsic values Positive affect Education + Work values Self-efficacy.68.52.42.29

11. Group differences in values after controlling for age and gender Mean score * *

12. Summer 2014 start, girl aged 17, intensive SFSC support Mean score

13. Summer 2014 start, girl aged 17, intensive SFSC support Mean score

14. Study 2: Interviews with young people

15. Participants: Interviews at one time point with 17 young people –7 young people in creative arts projects (5 female, 2 male; M age = 17.14, age range = 14 – 21) All had been involved with creative arts groups for at least 6 months. Voluntary participation experiences of homelessness, drug and alcohol misuse, poverty, chaotic family experiences violence, involvement in crime, mental health difficulties, school and social exclusion, and bullying at school –10 parent-child dyads involved in family coaching intervention (4 female, 6 male; M age = 14.7, age range = 13 – 19) experiences of bullying, school exclusion or poor school attendance, mental health difficulties, chaotic family experiences, involvement in crime Method – Semi-structured interviews

16. Changes Changes experienced Family dynamics Positive changes in behaviour, outcomes, coping skills, trajectories Self changes Aspirations, opportunities, belief in positive possible future selves New ways of relating to others

17. Kerri: I weren’t going to school, like drinking and stuff. Like, I got arrested […] like drugs and stuff. […] I don’t think I would have changed if it weren’t for her [family coach]. […] So she’s really helped, and I’m a completely different person now. Danielle: [Prior to involvement in creative arts project] I used to drink to like, forget things, forget my problems. Int: How do you cope now? Danielle: People help. Changes experienced Positive changes in behaviour, outcomes, coping skills, trajectories

18. Sarah: [Prior to involvement in creative arts project] I used to see it [the future] as like… mother of like two kids at the age of however old, with […] a boyfriend’s in prison all the time […] I used to think I was gonna die young as well. […] But now I think I’m going to die of old age […]. Harry: Before [Family Coach involvement] I thought I was just like a boy who had all this anger, and now I think I’m a boy who’s gonna get a good job, who’s gonna get good grades, who’s gonna have a good life. Changes experienced Aspirations, opportunities, belief in positive possible future selves

19. Marie: I’ve got more confidence [since involvement in creative arts project]. […] [I am] a lot more sure, a lot more confident, a lot more like… I feel a lot more better about myself, through the group. I used to hate myself all the time, and now I love myself all the time. Kerri: Before [family coach involvement] […] if someone was like, “Oh yeah, do this”, I would be too afraid to say no […]. Now, if I don’t want to do it, I say no, whereas before, I would just do it, yeah, cos everyone else wants me to, but now I just put my foot down. […] She [family coach] just gave me the confidence to say like if I want to do something or not. Changes experienced Self changes

20. Family dynamics (Family coaching only) Int: Has anything changed for the rest of your family do you think? John: Less shouting so they’re a bit more happy. Changes experienced

21. Int: Is there anything else that you think you’ve learnt from being involved […]? Sarah: Em… To be more polite to people. Like with police and stuff like that. […] Like, when I used to get in trouble, […] I never used to see them as like a human being. So I just used to see them as, like, police, and they’re out to get everyone and... But really they’re just doing their jobs. New ways of relating to others (Creative arts groups only) Changes experienced

22. Relationships with practitioners Distinctive professional relationship Different kind of relationship Different communication style Different types of support (practical and emotional)

23. Distinctive professional relationship Different kind of relationship Kerri: [Family coach] spoke to me a lot, and I could tell her and she didn’t judge, even though I was really bad, she didn’t judge Kate: You’ve actually got people who believe in you [at creative arts project], […] they want you to come on and do better things. […] Instead of making you feel like you can’t do it, they’re like, ‘Oh, that’ll be great!’, ‘You can!’, and stuff like that.

24. Charlie: He [family coach] wouldn’t say, ‘That is the best thing’, he’d be like, ‘I reckon’ or ‘This is a good thing’, but […] he wouldn’t say definitely that that’s what you have to do. […] Int: And why is that a good thing? Charlie : Cause it shows that he’s not just always giving orders, he’s letting us know, like, we have a choice. Distinctive professional relationship Different communication style Sam: Like instead of just assuming that you’re always wrong, you know, they listen and they, you know, think of it and then they try the idea and if it works then fair enough, it don’t, you know, they don’t go “oh yeah, I told you”, they’ll just say “ maybe instead of doing it that way we could do it this way”.

25. Kate: when there was family stuff going on like… I could come in and instead of like me feeling like shit all day, I could actually like talk to someone about it. Harry: Yeah, [Family Coach] is just always there, she’s like that, the fact that she’s like helping me with my anger and stuff like that, it’s nice to have someone there, like if I can’t talk to my mum or my sisters or anyone, I could go to her and talk to her and she’d like understand. Distinctive professional relationship Different types of support (practical and emotional)

26. A unique space and process (creative arts groups only) Being part of something positive and productive An opportunity for self-expression Working towards something and sense of achievement New perspectives learnt and shared Positive friendships Enjoyment Belonging Experience of engagement and intrinsic motivation Safe, stable, space

27. Marie: They’re my second family here [at creative arts group], they really are. Kate: it’s just the most bit of normality, [laughing] […] even though it’s not normal! [Laughing] Int: What do you mean by normal? Kate: […] Like, here it’s not about like, you’ve gotta get stoned to do this and you gotta have drink to do that… Like, you can come here and actually be yourself, and just… You don’t have to fit in either. Can you say a bit more about why you enjoy coming here? Danielle: Cause we just all get on, and feel yourself, and don’t feel judged. Int: What keeps you coming back? Danielle: The people. And I just, like… From Friday, I look forward to the next Thursday […] it’s something to look forward to.

28. Int: So what are the best bits about being involved? […] Sarah: I dunno, working towards something. […] Just working towards and knowing that at the end of it […] you’re gonna be able to show something. Amy: What did you expect it [Miss Rep] to be like? YP3: I thought I’d be like, bored, and get distracted at first, but… I did what everyone else was doing and by the time you know it, it was the end of the day. Sam: It’s good because […] you’ve rapped how you feel. You’ve put your emotions and everything that you’ve had done to you over the week, you know, you can just sit there and remember while you’re listening to a track that you’ve made. Danielle: Yeah, it’s just something to do, like, instead of sitting, walking the streets all day, or sitting at home bored. It keeps me motivated. And I enjoy it.

29. Int: What do you get out of being involved would you say? Danielle: Experience about stuff and about other people and about, like, someone you might not have got on with, or, you might have someone who said something but there’s gotta be a reason behind it, and just stuff like that. Kate: Whatever we talk about there’s always like… someone always disagrees or someone always agrees, so then there’s a discussion and everyone thinks differently about it by the end of it.

30. unstable home life or living situation something unpredictable or chaotic happening unhelpful behaviour patterns (e.g. lack of routine) and negative thoughts (e.g. self-doubt) being categorised or labelled negatively by society unclear pathway or goal young person’s mental health or health issues Potential barriers to reaching goals identified by young people

31. Commonalities and differences Commonalities Positive changes experienced Supportive and consistent relationships with practitioners – whether creative arts or family coach – underpinned changes seen Differences changes in family dynamics vs new ways of relating to others creative arts projects = unique opportunity for social and emotional development, achievement experiences, development of positive social networks and sense of social inclusion family coaching intervention = holistic work with whole family

32. Limitations and discussion points Limitations Not comparing like with like Cross-sectional study Do all creative arts projects confer the same benefits? What about other types of interventions? Discussion Those interventions which target values – intrinsic vs extrinsic – may be most beneficial Importance of social inclusion – creative arts groups particularly advantageous here Need for more integrated services to enable peer learning, opportunities for achievement experiences and social inclusion, as well as support for changes in family dynamics

33. What’s next? Beating the Odds 2 Longitudinal work with multiple creative arts projects over 2 years – tracking experiences and change over time Quantitative and qualitative research methods Targeted and non-targeted projects – commonalities and differences Further development of assessment protocol for use in BHCC’s Children’s Services – Early Help

34. Thanks for listening. And thanks to… all of the young people who generously shared their experiences, and the support of practitioners for our work. And to the support of… Questions? Contact me at F.Hanrahan@sussex.ac.uk