Introduction

A strength-based approach has a simple premise - identify what is going well, do more of it, and build on it. Strengths are positive factors, both in the individual and in the environment, which support healthy development.

A strength-based approach recognises that each of us has a combination of risk factors and protective factors which shape our development. Some of them are within our control, and some beyond. Much attention has been given to the risk factors that have lead to young men being over-represented among road crash fatalities, youth suicides, perpetrators of violence and many other negative statistics. What has been given far less attention are the protective factors that mean most young men are not counted in those statistics, and most lead healthy and productive lives posing no risk to themselves or others.

Rather than having problem orientation and a risk focus, a strength-based approach seeks to understand and develop the factors that protect most young people.

What is a strengths-based approach

A strengths-based approach has three distinct elements. The approach emphasises the resourcefulness and resilience that exists in everyone rather than dwelling on what has gone wrong or placed a person at risk. It affirms that people can grow and change, and that everyone has a range of abilities and strengths, which, with the right support, can be mobilised to give them a better future.

A second element of a strengths-based approach is an acceptance that the solutions will not be the same for everyone, the strengths of the individuals and their circumstances are different, and that people need to be fully involved in identifying their goals and building their strengths and resources.

The third element is the recognition that as individuals we live within families, communities, a society and a culture, and that all of these along with our own attributes determine our wellbeing. The strengths of these different environments are just as important to good outcomes as the strengths of the individuals (Ministry of Health 2002; Stumpfig 2000).

Strengths are also descried as protective factors. Protective factors, as the name suggests, provide a buffer against risk factors. An individual's ability to cope with and manage the balance between risks, stressful life events and protective factors is increasingly described as "resilience" (Kalil 2003).