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Supporting Immigrant/Newcomer youth: SSWN Open Access 2020

Supporting Immigrant/Newcomer youth:  SSWN Open Access 2020

Editor’s Note: In this SSWN Open Access 2020 series, we’re sharing the articles from the just-published open-access International Journal of School Social Work (published by SSWAA and where I serve as Editor-in-Chief) with SSWN readers and to invite authors and practitioners to interact with this original research here and over at our SSWNetwork platform. The seventh article presents outcomes from a mixed-methods study of the STRONG Resiliency Program for Newcomer Youth, as experienced by 19 youth in Canada. The study conducted by Dr. Claire V. Crooks and her team at Western University in London, Ontario, looked at the outcomes and they wrote in their paper:

Youth from six intervention groups participated in this study through completing pre- and post-intervention surveys and focus groups. Our qualitative results identified a high level of acceptability among youth. Perceived benefits included improved coping and relaxation strategies, increased confidence and trust, increased peer connectedness and belongingness, benefits of sharing and exchanging stories with peers, and increased knowledge in the Canadian context. Youths’ scores on resilience and use of STRONG skills increased significantly from pre- to post-intervention, but there was no change in school connectedness scores. We discuss the convergence between qualitative and quantitative findings and highlight some of the areas that were only evident in focus groups.

YOUTH-IMPACTS-OF-STRONG

Tell us what you think and share how you might use these intervention ideas where you practice, over at SSWNetwork.

Youth-Impacts_Research-Snapshot_final_2020

About The Author

Michael Kelly

Michael S. Kelly PhD, LCSW is the Lucian and Carol Welch Matusak Professor and Director of the School Mental Health Advanced Practice certificate and Family and School Partnerships Program at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Social Work. Prior to coming to Loyola in Fall 2006, he was a school social worker, family therapist, and youth minister in the Chicago area for 14 years. He has authored over 80 journal articles, books, and book chapters on school social work, evidence-based practice (EBP), and positive youth development. He is a fellow of the Oxford Symposium for School-Based Family Counseling, co-Chair of the Society for Social Work & Research SSW Special Interest Group, Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of School Social Work, and Associate Editor of School Mental Health. He has recently brought his work on school mental health and EBP to researchers and practitioners in England, Rhode Island, Wyoming, Canada, Chile, and Japan.

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