Youth Action for Prevention

Youth Action for Prevention

Funders     Introduction     Concerns about Youth and Alcohol     How YAP Works 
YAP Photovoice Project     Youth Action Grant Program     Links     Resources

Funders

http://www.health.gov.sk.ca/
Saskatchewan Ministry of Health

http://www.potashcorp.com/
Potash Corporation Incorporated

Introduction

The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute works to prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in a number of ways. One of the most innovative approaches is the Youth Action for Prevention (YAP) project. YAP is a youth-focused FASD prevention initiative that encourages young people to create resources and projects that raise awareness of FASD and other alcohol-related harms among their peers. The YAP project hosts two meetings each year, bringing together Saskatchewan youth (between the ages 14-24) to develop projects and/or resources to bring back to their communities.

The YAP meetings are structured to include four components:

Education: Participants learn about FASD, alcohol-related harms, the power of youth involvement, social marketing, and many other important areas

Discussion: Participants brainstorm and discuss how alcohol affects their communities and peers, as well as the more general impacts of alcohol

Skills: Participants develop practical strategies to reduce alcohol-related harms, as well as gaining useful skills (e.g., facilitation, leadership, and presentation.

Action: Participants develop action plans and resources to create awareness around alcohol use in their communities
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Why are we concerned about youth and alcohol?

Youth and Alcohol Use

“Alcohol is legal, government sanctioned, and accepted by most adults, so it is not surprising that young people have a casual attitude towards alcohol as well”

The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute conducted a literature review entitled “Addressing the Risks of Alcohol Use with Youth.”This literature review provided a foundation for understanding how alcohol use affects Canadian youth. Some key points that were identified included:

  1. The number of youth (ages 14-24) who drink alcohol in Canada is at an all-time high and is a serious social, cultural, economic, and health issue (1)
  2. 82.9% of youth over the age of 15 consumed alcohol within the previous year (1)
  3. Rates of alcohol-related risky behaviours increase as alcohol use increases. Some of these risky behaviours include: violence; unprotected sex; unplanned pregnancy; and FASD (2)
  4. Saskatchewan has the highest rate of youth alcohol dependence in Canada (3)
  5. Alcohol is the most abused of all legal and illegal substances in Saskatchewan and Canada (4)

Click here to view the complete Literature Review

Trends in Youth Alcohol Use

A number of current and emerging trends in youth alcohol use were also identified:

  • The average age of initiation for alcohol use is getting younger, and the average age in Canada is 15.6 (1)
  • In the past, females did not drink as much or as often as males. However, the gender gap between males and females is narrowing. This is especially true for females between the ages of 15 and 19, as well as female undergraduate students (5)
  • Binge drinking (one of the most dangerous drinking patterns) is an increasingly common trend among young people. Binge drinking is defined as:
    • Four or more drinks on one occasion for women
    • Five or more drinks on one occasion for men
  • Drinking alcohol before going out to a bar, club, or party, sometimes referred to as “pre- drinking,” is a common practice among college-aged students.

Alcohol-Related Harms

Although many believe that driving under the influence is the major harm associated with alcohol use, alcohol use is also linked to a broader spectrum of potential harms (6). These harms range from physiological effects (e.g., alcohol poisoning) to social (e.g., fights) and sexual (e.g., unplanned/unwanted sexual experiences) effects (7). FASD, an alcohol-related harm with lifelong consequences for the unborn baby, is often overlooked in alcohol awareness campaigns. Due to the highly interconnected nature of all alcohol-related harms, it is very difficult to address FASD alone without considering alcohol in general.

Click here to learn more on ‘Alcohol-Related Harms’

Developmental Factors

  • Features of adolescent (14-18) and emerging adulthood (18-24) development may increase risk for alcohol use and related harms. For instance:
    • Emotional and physical needs change, increased desire for independence, and major lifestyle changes (e.g., entering new schools, jobs, and relationships) (8)
    • Youth often feel they are “invincible” (e.g., “certain behaviours will harm you but can’t harm me”) and focus on the present, rather than the consequences of actions in the future(8)
  • Youth is a period characterized by “experimentation,” which does not always lead to continued use (9).
    • Critical time for prevention, as it can change behaviour before it escalates and becomes problematic (10)
  • Physiological developmental factors can also increase youths’ vulnerability to alcohol
    • During adolescence, the brain grows rapidly, especially in the frontal lobes
    • Drinking earlier in life is associated with increased risk for addictions later in life (11)

The Role of Youth in Promoting Alcohol Awareness

Research shows that health promotion initiatives directed towards youth are more effective when young people are engaged in the development and delivery of these programs (12). In this way, youth engagement is beneficial, not only to the participants in the program, but also their peers and communities. Initiatives are most successful when youth are involved at all stages of development and are responsible for deciding what the key messages are and how they are presented. Full youth involvement means youth participants act as both peer leaders and educators. Overall, research has shown that through the strength of meaningful youth involvement, youth can make a real difference in changing their peers’ attitudes about alcohol use and decrease the negative outcomes linked to its use.

Click Here for more on ‘The Role of Youth in Promoting Alcohol Awareness’

How YAP Works and Why

The YAP program integrates and applies a number of evidence-based strategies to youth-focused FASD prevention. First, using a philosophy of youth engagement as the basis of the program, youth are supported to create positive change in their communities. Second, the YAP program is characterized by a harm reduction approach, focusing on the consequences and risks of substance use rather than on use of the substance itself, and acknowledges that a drug- and alcohol-free society is, at present, an unrealistic goal (13-14). For example, rather than suggesting total abstinence from alcohol, the harm reduction approach recognizes that not all youth will simply stop drinking, focusing instead on providing skills and tools to reduce the harms experienced through alcohol use. Third, the YAP program facilitates peer-to -peer prevention, by providing skills, resources, and support to participants in creating resources and projects specifically tailored to the needs of their peers.

Click here to view a complete list of references

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YAP Photovoice Project

The YAP PhotoVoice Project was developed as a provincial project for YAP participants to work on collaboratively. The overall aim of the project was for a group of Saskatchewan youth to use photos and words to communicate the impact alcohol has in their lives.

More specifically, the YAP PhotoVoice Project::

  1. Gave a voice to a group of participating youth by providing them with skills and confidence in photography, team work, and communication.
  2. Helped young people in Saskatchewan consider the impact alcohol has on their lives.
  3. Educate Saskatchewan people about what youth experience and feel about alcohol.

In the fall of 2010, a group of youth from a variety of Saskatchewan communities were involved in an intense training around using ‘PhotoVoice’ as a communication and evaluative tool. Participating youth followed through with ‘outshoots’ in their home communities following the training. All photos for the project were gathered together at the Prevention Institute, and youth were involved in the photo selection process. The final photos were put together to present to the public with accompanying information about the PhotoVoice process and conclusions of what was learned. Distribution will occur at all levels (media, government, general public, and youth).
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Youth Action Grant Program

The purpose of the Youth Action Grant Program is to help communities throughout Saskatchewan develop programs that address the issue of alcohol and FASD as it applies to the community applying for the grant, especially as it applies to the community’s youth. These programs should educate and raise awareness about FASD and other risks of youth alcohol use in a way that will actively engage other youth in the community. Preference will be given to grant applications submitted by youth involved in the YAP project.

  • The maximum grant available to each community is $1000
  • Funds must be distributed through an agency or school

Funding may not be used for:

  • Replacement of existing salary
  • Rent
  • Capital costs

Proposals must:

  • Include a detailed project plan
  • Be consistent with the purpose of the grant program as mentioned above
  • Show no conflict of interest (for example, the project should not financially benefit any participants or partners)

Projects must:

  • Be conducted by youth and directed towards youth
  • Involve the community in some way
  • Be evaluated (we can offer ideas)
  • Be summarized in a final report (form will be provided)

Click here to download the Youth Action Grant application form
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Links

YouTube Videos

Please share this exciting YouTube video created by Saskatchewan youth to promote FASD prevention. The video was released just in time for Mother's Day on May 8, 2011. The group of young people involved in this project came up with the idea, acted in it, filmed it, and wrote original music for it. We are currently finalizing posters that go with this video and should have those ready to distribute soon.

Our congratulations to all the young people involved in this project for a job well done!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URDRcTBxRv0
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Resources

  • 3-002 Order

    THANK YOU MOM - POSTER SERIES

    Saskatchewan Prevention Institute, 2011

    This series of nine posters was developed by Saskatchewan youth through the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute’s Youth Action for Prevention project. Each poster depicts a different young person thanking their mother for not drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Posters feature English, French, and Cree messages which are Saskatchewan’s three most common languages. Nine youth were chosen for the campaign to represent both the nine months of pregnancy and the variety of people to whom the message of preventing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is relevant. Each poster includes a QR scan code, allowing people with smart-phones to link directly to the accompanying “Thank You Mom” video, found on the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute’s YouTube page. http://www.youtube.com/user/PreventionInstitute1

  • 3-003 Download Order

    Hammered: A Sober Look at Youth and Alcohol - Booklet

    This booklet features a photovoice project exploring the impact of alcohol on Saskatchewan youth as viewed and experienced by the young people themselves. Photovoice is a technique that gives a “voice” to people whose voices are often unheard or ignored. Through powerful photographs and youth’s own words, Hammered: A Sober Look at Youth and Alcohol is relevant to all generations as it looks at alcohol use in youth culture.

  • 3-004 (View Only - See Link Below)

    THANK YOU MOM - VIDEO

    Saskatchewan Prevention Institute, 2011

    This powerful video, created by youth, communicates the importance of avoiding alcohol during pregnancy. This issue is addressed in a sensitive and relevant way by having young people thank their own mothers for not drinking alcohol during pregnancy. The writing, acting, directing, filming, and musical composition were all completed by Saskatchewan youth through the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute’s Youth Action for Prevention project. See the video at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/user/PreventionInstitute1

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