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| == Key Findings in Social Network Health == | | == Key Findings in Social Network Health == |
| We will outline the key findings in Social Network Health that define the implementations we have studied. The findings are critical to developing a [[SNH Maturity Model|mature approach]] to health in a community using Social Network Health.
| | These 14 findings are critical to developing a mature approach to strengthening social networks in a community. Among the key findings, we currently identify ten that require implementation action and four findings are direct community health measurements. The number of key findings we describe may change as further research and implementation reveal new insights over time. |
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| Among the key findings, we currently identify ten that necessitate specific actions to achieve the outcomes of four key findings by which community health can be measured. The number of key findings we highlight may change as further research and implementation reveal new insights over time.
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| === Actions: === | | |
| | {{Colored box |
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| | | title = Key Action Findings |
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| | | content = === Key Action Findings: === |
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| ==== '''Prevention: ''' ==== | | ==== '''Prevention: ''' ==== |
| Effective and efficient Prevention builds individual and community protective factors and social norms. Network health approaches that address these processes, such as maximizing youth-adult connections schoolwide and heightening influence of youth with coping, create more protective schools. | | A Network Health Case for Upstream Intervention in Social Systems: Effective prevention builds protective factors and healthy social norms for individuals and the community around them. Network health approaches do this by working through the group: strengthening youth-adult connections school-wide, giving more influence on young people who cope well, and building schools that are protective by design. |
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| ''Note: Mention that prevention in education terms is TIER 1 PBIS''
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| '''''NIMH - Upstream prevention is necessary'''.''
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| ''Existing suicide intervention programming focuses on detecting and remediating risk after suicidal individuals are identified.<sup> </sup> Although undoubtedly saving lives, this approach is insufficient on its own.''
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| ''Wingman-Connect addresses an urgent need for preventions that are effective in reducing suicide risk across broad populations – particularly where stigma and concerns about negative career impacts remain major barriers to disclosing suicidal thoughts/behaviors.''
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| '''''Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry *: * (2019),'''''
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| ''To date, suicide prevention has focused primarily on individual-level psychiatric risk factors and on strategies to refer and treat high-risk youth. Yet researchers and policymakers recommend strengthening positive social bonds because social integration can reduce suicidal behavior in youth''
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| ''To our knowledge, this is the first study of any adolescent health problem, including suicidal behavior, that integrates adult connections into friendship networks at a school population level.''
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| ''Network interventions addressing these processes, such as maximizing youth–adult connections schoolwide and heightening influence of youth with healthy coping, could create more protective schools. The present study is the first empirical evidence linking more integrated youth–adult networks (i.e., students sharing trusted adults with friends) to lower Suicide Attempts.''
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| '''''JAMA Open Network, October, 2020'''''
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| ''Group training that builds cohesive, healthy military units is promising for upstream suicide prevention.''
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| ''The Wingman-Connect program used group skill building for cohesion, shared purpose, and managing career and personal stressors. Wingman-Connect is the first universal prevention program to reduce suicidal ideation and depression symptoms in a general Air Force population. Group training that builds cohesive, healthy military units is promising for upstream suicide prevention.''
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| ''Social Science & Medicine Social Science & Medicine 296 (2022) 114737''
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| ''The current attention on the detection and treatment of suicidal military members is necessary, but ultimately insufficient to meet the needs of many suicidal service members. Results from our study suggest that the status quo progression for many service members at elevated suicide risk is one of worsening disconnection, evidenced by the trajectory of declining valued connections found in the active control condition.''
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| '''''Upstream prevention is necessary'''.''
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| ''Existing military suicide intervention programming focuses on detecting and remediating risk after suicidal individuals are identified.<sup> </sup> Although undoubtedly saving lives, this approach is insufficient on its own.''
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| ''Wingman-Connect addresses an urgent need for preventions that are effective in reducing suicide risk across broad populations – particularly where stigma and concerns about negative career impacts remain major barriers to disclosing suicidal thoughts/behaviors.''
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| ''Wingman-Connect (Wyman et al., 2020 & 2022) uses a network health theoretical framework to strengthen two suicide-protective functions of social networks: 1) Strengthening positive social bonds, and 2) Building healthy norms that incentivize adaptive coping.''
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| ''This expanded focus on modifying “upstream” risk and protective processes—before the emergence of suicidal behavior—stands in contrast to current youth suicide prevention programming focused on identifying and treating individuals who are already suicidal or at high risk by training adult gatekeepers and screening. (Wyman 2014)''
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| ''Childhood and adolescence are key suicide “prevention window” periods. Approximately one half of emotional and behavioral disorders that are well-defined risk factors for suicide have onset of symptoms by age 14 years.2 Many effective programs for children and adolescents prevent or reduce the severity of these mental, emotional, and behavioral problems, according to a recent National Academy of Sciences review.2 In addition to being a critical period for preventing disorders, childhood and early adolescence are important periods for preventing the onset of suicidal behaviors (Wyman 2014)''
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| ''Interventions delivered in social systems are needed for broad impact Children develop through interactions within social systems (e.g., families, schools), and interventions in these systems can influence emotional and behavioral developmental processes of large youth populations essential to reduce suicide rates. (Wyamn 2014)''
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| ''Upstream interventions delivered through social systems in childhood and early adolescence have the potential for reducing population-level suicide rates by decreasing the number of adolescents with mental emotional and behavioral problems, as well as creating social environments that expose adolescents to positive coping norms, increase youth-adult connections, and reduce adverse experiences such as bullying. (Wyman 2014)''
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| ''Wyman PA. Developmental approach to prevent adolescent suicides: research pathways to effective upstream preventive interventions. Am J Prev Med. 2014 Sep;47(3 Suppl 2):S251-6. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.05.039. PMID: 25145747; PMCID: PMC4143775.''
| | Dive in: [[Prioritizing Prevention]] |
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| ==== '''Ecological Validity:''' ==== | | ==== '''Ecological Validity:''' ==== |
| Approaches that are designed and built by and with the community (authenticity, organic, grassroots, culturally relevant) have higher transfers of beliefs and skills to daily life.
| | Designing Prevention Through the Group's Own Structure, Not Around It: A programme has to work the way the group it's for actually works, not the way an imported curriculum assumes it should. Wingman-Connect shows what this looks like in practice: adapting an existing model meant redesigning its delivery mechanism to fit military culture, not simply translating its content, because a programme transplanted unchanged rarely survives contact with a different social structure. |
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| '''''Effectiveness Trial of Wingman-Connect Implemented Across Career Phases'''''
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| ''Submitted to the National Institute of Mental Health, PAR21-130, 10/13/2022''
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| ''Group training that builds cohesive, healthy military units is promising for upstream suicide prevention and may be essential for ecological validity''
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| '''''Data-informed implementation preparation.'''''
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| ''A “voltage drop” and poor sustainment are common as interventions transition from controlled efficacy trials to regular use.''
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| ''Conversely, scaled out interventions are more impactful with careful preparation using implementation science frameworks.''
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| ''“The concept of ecological validity has become familiar to psychologists. It reminds them that the artificial situation created for an experiment may differ from the everyday world in crucial ways. When this is so, the results may be irrelevant to the phenomena that one would really like to explain.”''
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| ''To bridge the gap between lab and life, many researchers have called for experiments with more ‘ecological validity’ to ensure that experiments more closely resemble and generalize to the ‘real-world.’''
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| ''Holleman GA, Hooge ITC, Kemner C, Hessels RS. The 'Real-World Approach' and Its Problems: A Critique of the Term Ecological Validity. Front Psychol. 2020 Apr 30;11:721. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00721. PMID: 32425850; PMCID: PMC7204431.''
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| ''The main intention for cultural adaptation frameworks (EVM) is to increase the cultural acceptability and effectiveness of the psychological treatment. This is accomplished by making changes that align with the culture of the beneficiary population, while maintaining the components of the evidence-based research that supports the treatment''
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| ''The EVM was selected because it is based on the view that individuals must be understood within their cultural, social, and political environment. The EVM framework serves to ‘culturally center’ an intervention through eight dimensions that must be incorporated for an intervention to have ecological validity and be embedded within the cultural context (Bernal, 2003). These dimensions include language, persons, metaphors, content, concepts, goals, methods, and context (Table 1 in online Supplementary material).''
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| ''Sangraula M, Kohrt BA, Ghimire R, Shrestha P, Luitel NP, Van't Hof E, Dawson K, Jordans MJD. Development of the mental health cultural adaptation and contextualization for implementation (mhCACI) procedure: a systematic framework to prepare evidence-based psychological interventions for scaling. Glob Ment Health (Camb). 2021 Feb 19;8:e6. doi: 10.1017/gmh.2021.5. PMID: 33996110; PMCID: PMC8082944.''
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| '''''NIMH'''''
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| '''''Data-informed implementation preparation.'''''
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| ''A “voltage drop” and poor sustainment are common as interventions transition from controlled efficacy trials to regular use. Conversely, scaled out interventions are more impactful with careful preparation using implementation science frameworks.''
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| '''''JAMA Open Network, October, 2020'''''
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| ''group training design ecologically valid and appealing for participants. Wingman-Connect development benefited from strong organizational collaboration, resulting in an ecologically valid program.''
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| '''''Evidence-based Methodology:''''' ''A commitment to follow the evidence of impact. Networks of Support’s structure and key elements strengthen relationship networks, cohesion, adaptive coping, and group norms. Group-based, interactive training uses research-informed strategies.''
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| '''''JAMA Open Network, October, 2020'''''
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| '''''Research Outcomes – Evidence Based Key Findings include:'''''
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| * ''Increased class cohesion, morale, positive bonds, and acceptability of help seeking''
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| * ''Reduction in suicide risks scores, depression, and reactivity to anger''
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| * ''Nearly 50% reduction in occupational impairment (corrective training, negative counseling)''
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| '''''Measurable Impact on both Protective Factors and Risk Factors'''''
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| ''Wingman-Connect was tested using the '''gold-standard research design with Airmen in Training''' from 2017-2019 (randomized controlled trial). Training showed statistically significant increases in group and individual level protective factors, as well as reductions in negative outcomes including and depression and suicide risk. ''
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| ''Class exercises create more cohesive units with skills extended into group culture.''' ''' Wingman Connect training is delivered to organizational units using interactive exercises to build key group and individual protective factors.''
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| ''Wingman-Connect impact promoting more cohesive, healthy training classes was a mechanism that reduced risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. More cohesive, healthy classes ‘lifted up’ individuals who were vulnerable to fitness and mental health problems. Study findings suggest that group training for organizational units may be critical for ‘transfer’ of training concepts and skills into the organization’s culture.''
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| '''''Social Science & Medicine''' Social Science & Medicine 296 (2022) 114737''
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| ''The current attention on the detection and treatment of suicidal military members is necessary, but ultimately insufficient to meet the needs of many suicidal service members. Results from our study suggest that the status quo progression for many service members at elevated suicide risk is one of worsening disconnection, evidenced by the trajectory of declining valued connections found in the active control condition.''
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| ''Program achieved the objective of strengthening the network structure of unit relationships over time, including socially integrating those currently at elevated risk for suicide. This is an especially important hypothesis since W-CP training has no content encouraging Airmen to form connections with at-risk peers.''
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| '''''NIMH'''''
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| ''Effective upstream suicide prevention programs that can be implemented in real-world settings are urgently needed to address the significant and growing problem of suicides.''
| | Dive in: [[Ecological Validity]] |
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| ''No RCT-validated universal programs shown to reduce vulnerability to suicide are in wide use. To fill this gap, we developed the Wingman-Connect Program–group-based prevention approach that strengthens protective relationship networks and skills for managing challenge. This strategy of reducing suicide risk could be highly impactful as a complement to the predominant approach of trying to mitigate risk only after suicidal individuals are identified.''
| | ==== Evidence-Based Methodology: ==== |
| | Testing the Theory of Change, Not Just Its Outcome: Social Network Health approaches require an ongoing commitment to test not just whether a programme works, but why. The Wingman-Connect trial modelled this directly, tracing its effect back to class cohesion itself rather than assuming the theory behind it was correct, and the same standard should apply to every claim this project makes, including its own. |
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| ''Wyman has led research (NIH, CDC funded) testing that program, which disseminates skills for social health through youth peer networks.<sup> </sup> The high-energy, interactive training improves student connectedness and coping norms, and protective effects spread school-wide including adult help for suicidal youth.<sup> </sup> A study aggregating three RCTs (N=78 schools; 39,900 students) showed fewer suicide deaths in schools implementing this approach.'' <sup> </sup>
| | Dive in: [[Evidence-Based Methodology]] |
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| ==== '''Consistency: ''' ==== | | ==== '''Consistency: ''' ==== |
| This approach requires long-term commitment to intentional cultural integration and reevaluation of programming.
| | Sustained Contact as the Mechanism That Prevents Effects from Fading: Social Network Approaches require long-term commitment to sustained contact, not a single well-run delivery. Wingman-Connect built this in directly, pairing its training with months of reinforcing contact, and the outcome that had this reinforcement held at six months, while the one without it faded within weeks. Consistent, ongoing engagement is what keeps a programme's effects from wearing off. |
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| A “voltage drop” and poor sustainment are common as interventions transition to regular use. Conversely, multiple exposures are more impactful with careful preparation.
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| Submitted to the National Institute of Mental Health, PAR21-130, 10/13/2022
| | Dive in: [[Consistency]] |
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| '''Data-informed implementation preparation.''' | | ==== Discovery: ==== |
| | Recognising Distributed Strengths as a Protective Mechanism: Discovery is the mechanism by which a group makes strengths visible to each other, not just to the individual who has them, a strength becomes real to a community when it's seen in action, not only when it's known privately. When everyone's competencies are recognised this way, the group becomes aware of its own collective capability, and that shared awareness itself functions as a protective factor. |
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| A “voltage drop” and poor sustainment are common as interventions transition from controlled efficacy trials to regular use. Conversely, scaled out interventions are more impactful with careful preparation using implementation science frameworks.
| | Dive in: [[Discovery]] |
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| '''JAMA Open Network, October, 2020''' | | ==== '''Whole Community''': ==== |
| | Population-Level Reach as the Mechanism of Population-Level Effect: A Whole Community approach means inviting everyone to participate, not only those identified as at risk, because population-level outcomes require population-level reach. Wyman et al. (2023) tested this directly across 78 high schools, delivering a universal programme to entire student populations rather than selected individuals, and found a promising reduction in suicide deaths. The same logic held in Wingman-Connect, which trained whole units together rather than screening individuals for risk. |
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| Wingman-Connect’s group training design ecologically valid and appealing for participants. Wingman-Connect development benefited from strong organizational collaboration, resulting in an ecologically valid program.
| | Dive in: [[Whole Community]] |
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| ==== '''''Whole Community''': '' ==== | | ==== Peer Influence: ==== |
| ''Everyone is invited and contributes to the overall health of the social network. ''
| | A Channel That Spreads Whatever Travels Through It: Peer-influenced activities work through relationships and communities people already have, rather than introducing an outside channel of influence. This channel is not inherently protective, it spreads whatever travels through it, whether that's risk from struggling peers or protective norms from trained peer leaders. Peer influence, done well, means directing the influence people already have on each other, not creating something new. |
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| '''Social Science & Medicine''' Social Science & Medicine 296 (2022) 114737
| | Dive in: [[Peer-influenced|Peer Influence]] |
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| Findings support a growing case for the unique contribution of group-level interventions to improve social health of broader populations. The Wingman-Connect Program trains all members of natural organizational units together to strengthen group bonds and the diffusion of suicide-protective norms and practices. Skill-building activities focus on relationships and practices supportive of mental health.
| | ==== '''Mentoring: ''' ==== |
| | The Deliberate Transfer Relationship Inside Network Health: Mentoring is the deliberate transfer relationship inside network health: an experienced person guiding a less experienced one, through listening, sharing, and connecting. It appears both as a safeguard around peer-led programmes and as a trained protective factor in its own right, something a community can build and measure deliberately, not simply hope happens on its own. |
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| Group skill-building activities identify strengths of all group members, and members learn how a strong network supports all members’ health and fitness. W-CP uses high energy activities and peer-to-peer teaching; exercises inside and outside of training promote adoption of skills into unit culture.
| | Dive in: [[Mentoring]] |
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| '''NIMH'''
| | ==== Active/Experiential Learning: ==== |
| | A Documented Design Choice, Not Yet a Tested Mechanism: High-energy, hands-on activities are the delivery method both Wingman-Connect and a separate evidence-based practice course chose, and both reported good outcomes using it. But neither study isolated active learning as its own variable, comparing the same content delivered passively against delivering it actively. Active learning is a documented design pattern behind good outcomes here, not yet a proven cause of them. |
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| Program structure and key elements together strengthen relationship networks, cohesion, adaptive coping and group norms using group-based, interactive training based on research-informed strategies.
| | Dive in: [[Active Learning]] |
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| ==== '''''Discovery:''' '' ====
| | Notes: We are preferring Active Learning to experiential learning because it's a more modern and recognizable term and it is more common to find the term in supporting evidence. |
| ''Discovery of personal strengths and how those strengths impact our social network, and the discovery of other’s strengths and how those strengths impact us and the social network. Everyone’s competencies are recognized.''
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| Dr. Peter Wyman’s interview 2022
| | ==== Personally Meaningful Sharing: ==== |
| | Self-Disclosure as a Mechanism for Closeness: Personally meaningful sharing works through a specific structure: closeness builds when disclosure escalates gradually and is reciprocated, not from open-ended sharing alone. The act of sharing something real appears to help produce closeness, not just signal it already exists, but only when it's met with attentive, validating response rather than indifference. |
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| ==== '''''Peer Influence:''' '' ====
| | Dive in: [[Deep conversations|Deep Conversations]] |
| ''Social networks provide the mechanisms for the diffusion of norms and practices and the context for peer group monitoring and support.''' ''' Positive social bonds augment the protective factors while learning and modeling skills for growing relationships and developing connections to each other. These connections reduce ‘Pruning’. ''
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| '''NIMH'''
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| '''WINGMAN-CONNECT PROGRAM MODEL AND DEVELOPMENT'''
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| Wingman-Connect is an adaptation of a network-informed intervention. Since 2010, PI Wyman has led research (NIH, CDC funded) testing that program, which disseminates skills for social health through youth peer networks.<sup> </sup> The high-energy, interactive training improves student connectedness and coping norms, and protective effects spread school-wide including adult help for suicidal youth.<sup> </sup> A study aggregating three RCTs (N=78 schools; 39,900 students) showed fewer suicide deaths in schools implementing this approach. <sup> </sup>
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| | | content = === Key Outcome Findings: === |
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| Wingman-Connect Program structure and key elements together strengthen relationship networks, cohesion, adaptive coping and group norms.
| | ==== '''Group Cohesion:''' ==== |
| | The Mechanism, Not the Byproduct: Group cohesion isn't a pleasant side effect of a good programme, it's the tested mechanism behind the effect itself. A measured increase in how connected a group felt statistically accounted for the programme's impact on wellbeing, and the same pattern held independently in naturally occurring peer networks with no programme at all. Cohesion protects by exerting a real pull toward a group's healthy norms, not just by feeling supportive. |
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| Program’s novel group intervention strengthens ''social bonds'' as well as ''peer network norms'' that incentivize healthy coping. This interactive training progresses from individual engagement (e.g., each participant shares career goals and values) to building group level skills and norms (e.g., mapping group strengths).
| | Dive in: [[Group cohesion|Group Cohesion]] |
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| '''JAMA Open Network, October, 2020''' | | ==== '''Connection to Guidance:''' ==== |
| | Isolation from Trusted Adults as an Active Risk Factor: Isolation from a trusted adult isn't a neutral gap, it's a measured risk factor in its own right, and attempt rates rise where more students lack this connection. The protective effect is strongest when it's shared across a friendship group, not held by one person alone, and it isn't fixed by circumstance: deliberate training measurably increases how many trusted adults students identify. |
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| Airmen learn skills to grow and sustain protective factors essential to job success, mental health and reduced suicide risk (Kinship, Purpose, Guidance, Balance). Class exercises create more cohesive units with skills extended into group culture.''' ''' Wingman Connect training is delivered to organizational units using interactive exercises to build key group and individual protective factors (Four Cores):
| | Dive in: [[Connection to Guidance]] |
| | ==== '''Belonging:''' ==== |
| | A Need Defined by Frequency, Stability, and Quality Together: Belonging isn't simply a feeling of acceptance; it requires both frequent contact and a stable, ongoing relationship together, and neither alone is enough. What protects people is the quality of connection, not just its frequency, and when the need goes unmet, the consequences are measurable harm to health, not mild discomfort. |
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| The study’s findings validate the underlying network health model: stronger bonds within a more cohesive healthy class reduced suicidal ideation and depression symptoms. These findings suggest that training classes became increasingly unified around healthy norms and encouraged classmates who were vulnerable to mental health or occupational problems at a key juncture of military training, in addition to meeting their needs for belonging. Work with recent social network modeling show that cohesive groups serve a protective regulatory function through norms and pressures to conform.
| | Dive in: [[Belonging]] |
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| '''Social Science & Medicine''' Social Science & Medicine 296 (2022) 114737 | | ==== '''Help Seeking:''' ==== |
| | A Norm That Diffuses Through a Network, Not an Individual Trait: Help-seeking isn't simply a personal decision; it's a norm that spreads through a network. Shifting attitudes in a small, trained group measurably shifted the whole population's norms, with the largest gains landing on students already showing signs of distress. The mechanism is structural, not just attitudinal: people seek help when a trusted adult is genuinely reachable, not simply when told it's acceptable. |
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| Wingman-Connect counteracted the typical '''drift''' towards disconnection for Airmen at elevated suicide risk. Six-month findings again showed that W-CP offset the typical trajectory of decreasing connections for Airmen at elevated suicide risk.
| | Dive in: [[Help-Seeking Behaviors|Help Seeking]] |
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| These findings are, to our knowledge, the first to show that a suicide prevention program for small personnel units improved significantly the group relationship network and socially integrated members over time. This study extends knowledge of the social and relationship impact of the Wingman-Connect Program as it decreased suicide risk.
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| Wingman-Connect Program counteracted the expected drift towards disconnection for Airmen at elevated suicide risk by targeting the unit’s relationship network itself. These groups built enhanced suicide protection into their relationship networks, with the most consistent benefits for Airmen at elevated risk of suicide and for those starting with fewest connections.
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| Program built enhanced suicide protection into unit relationship networks and counteracted standard drift towards disconnection for at-risk Airmen, despite no explicit content targeting connections specifically to at-risk Airmen. Findings support a growing case for the unique contribution of group-level interventions to improve social health of broader populations.
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| ==== '''''Mentoring: ''''' ====
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| ''By focusing on patterns of relationships, network methods can clarify the contexts in which relationships form and exert influence on others. Maximizing these protective bonds across school populations, increasing opportunities for group cohesion including integrated youth– adult networks, and promoting influence of youth with healthy coping skills is critical. ''
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| '''JAMA Open Network, October, 2020'''
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| Airmen learn skills to grow and sustain protective factors essential to job success, mental health and reduced suicide risk (Kinship, Purpose, Guidance, Balance). Class exercises create more cohesive units with skills extended into group culture.''' ''' Wingman Connect training is delivered to organizational units using interactive exercises to build key group and individual protective factors (Four Cores):
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| * Group cohesion and belonging (Kinship)
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| * Informal and formal support and help-seeking (Guidance)
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| '''Social Science & Medicine''' Social Science & Medicine 296 (2022) 114737
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| Specific modules and activities build healthy relationships and accountability (Kinship) informal and formal help-seeking (Guidance).
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| '''An Outcome Evaluation of Suicide Prevention Program Delivered by Adolescent Peer Leaders in High Schools ''' Am J Public Health. 2010 September; 100(9): 1653–1661
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| The norms most strongly enhanced through the intervention were students' perceptions that adults in their school can provide help to suicidal students and the acceptability of seeking help from adults.
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| ==== '''''Active Learning''':'' ====
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| ''High-energy activities maintain interest, motivation, and create shared positive emotional experiences and create norms that incentivize adaptive coping skills. Space is created to practice skills that grow healthy bonds and draw upon resources in social environments to meet goals, manage career and personal challenges, and prevent behavioral health problems.''
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| '''JAMA Open Network, October, 2020'''
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| '''Active Learning and Transfer of Training to Life'''
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| * Drawing out ‘real-world’ strengths from participants as a primary method to teach Kinship, Purpose, Guidance, & Balance.
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| * High energy activities maintain interest, motivation, and a shared positive emotion.
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| * ‘Real-world’ exercises inside and outside of training reinforce the application of skills in groups and in individual activities of daily life.
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| ==== '''''Deep Sharing:''''' ====
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| ''Personally meaningful - participants are invited to share personally relevant goals and values referenced throughout. Drawing upon ‘real life’ strengths and conversations as the primary way to teach. Provides space for culturally relevant customs, celebrations, and traditions. ''
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| '''JAMA Open Network, October, 2020'''
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| Wingman-Connect impact promoting more cohesive, healthy training classes was a mechanism that reduced risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. More cohesive, healthy classes ‘lifted up’ individuals who were vulnerable to fitness and mental health problems. '''Study findings suggest that group training for organizational units may be critical for ‘transfer’ of training concepts and skills into the organization’s culture.'''
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| === Outcomes: ===
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| ==== '''''Group Cohesion:''''' ====
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| ''Through collaborative activities, participants develop skills for managing personal challenges and create shared healthy norms.''
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| '''Social Science & Medicine''' Social Science & Medicine 296 (2022) 114737
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| In more connected, healthier units, vulnerable members can borrow strength from adaptive members. Stronger units also promote job fitness, as shown by W-CP’s impact reducing occupational problems, an effect that may reduce future problems that precipitate new instances of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. In that sense, W-CP may specifically assist vulnerable Airmen in overcoming barriers to forming meaningful social connections.
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| Wingman-Connect Program’s interactive training created more dynamic relationship networks. Airmen in W-CP groups made more changes in who they named as valued connections, even as the overall average number of valued connections increased. The largest dynamic changes were for Airmen with elevated suicide risk in W-CP groups, who made on average three times more new valued connection nominations.
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| Group skill-building activities identify strengths of all group members, and members learn how a strong network supports all members’ health and fitness. W-CP uses high energy activities and peer-to-peer teaching; exercises inside and outside of training promote adoption of skills into unit culture.
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| '''JAMA Open Network, October, 2020'''
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| '''Research Outcomes – Evidence Based Key Findings include:'''
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| * Increased class cohesion, morale, positive bonds, and acceptability of help seeking
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| Wingman Connect strengthens skills to grow and sustain healthy social bonds. Natural organization (tech school classes) units train together to incorporate skills into culture, build cohesion and shared purpose. '''The objective is preventing occupational and behavioral health problems.'''
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| Positive Impact on Training Classes Together & Developing Positive Connections. Wingman-Connect training increased class cohesion, morale, & positive bonds. Participants gain an understanding of group norms and how everyone influences the social network.
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| ''Wingman-Connect'' trained natural organization units (technical school classes) and combined individual and group skills. Participants learned skills to grow healthy bonds and draw resources in their social environment to manage career and personal challenges and meet goals. Group skills focused on building cohesion and a unit culture organized around healthy norms including shared mission and mutual support.
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| The study’s findings validate the underlying network health model: stronger bonds within a more cohesive healthy class reduced suicidal ideation and depression symptoms. These findings suggest that Wingman-Connect classes became increasingly unified around healthy norms and encouraged classmates who were vulnerable to mental health or occupational problems at a key juncture of military training, in addition to meeting their needs for belonging. Work with recent social network modeling show that cohesive groups serve a protective regulatory function through norms and pressures to conform.
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| '''NIMH'''
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| '''Novel Intervention Targeting Peer Social Networks of Military Members'''
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| The Wingman-Connect Program’s novel group intervention strengthens ''social bonds'' as well as ''peer network norms'' that incentivize healthy coping. This interactive training progresses from individual engagement (e.g., each participant shares career goals and values) to building group level skills and norms (e.g., mapping group strengths).
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| Program structure and key elements together strengthen relationship networks, cohesion, adaptive coping and group norms using group-based, interactive training based on research-informed strategies.
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| ==== '''''Connection to Guidance:''''' ====
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| ''Informal and formal help-seeking. Cohesive youth–adult networks may promote more help-seeking for students and for their friends with whom they share a common bond to a supportive adult.''
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| '''Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry *: * (2019), Peter A. Wyman, Trevor A. Pickering, Anthony R. Pisani, et al.'''
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| Social networks provide the mechanisms for the diffusion of norms and practices and the context for peer group monitoring and support. Network characteristics influence the spread of many health behaviors. By focusing on patterns of relationships, network methods can clarify the contexts in which relationships form and exert influence on others.
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| Cohesive youth–adult networks may promote more help-seeking for students and for their friends with whom they share a common bond to a supportive adult.
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| Maximizing protective bonds across school populations, increasing opportunities for group cohesion including integrated youth– adult networks, and promoting influence of youth with healthy coping. Our findings suggest effective interventions will involve youth and adults.
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| '''NIMH'''
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| Wyman has led research (NIH, CDC funded) testing this approach, which disseminates skills for social health through youth peer networks.<sup> </sup> The high-energy, interactive training improves student connectedness and coping norms, and protective effects spread school-wide including adult help for suicidal youth.<sup> </sup> A study aggregating three RCTs (N=78 schools; 39,900 students) showed fewer suicide deaths in schools implementing this approach. <sup> </sup>
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| '''Social Science & Medicine''' Social Science & Medicine 296 (2022) 114737
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| Wingman-Connect Program’s interactive training created more dynamic relationship networks. Airmen in W-CP groups made more changes in who they named as valued connections, even as the overall average number of valued connections increased.
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| ==== '''''Belonging:''''' ====
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| ''Positive social bonds augment the protective effects of inclusion and support and build trust. All participants experience the positive and appropriate engagement of others. Everyone is invited to participate. ''
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| '''JAMA Open Network, October, 2020'''
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| Group training that builds cohesive, healthy military units is promising for upstream suicide prevention.
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| The study’s findings validate the underlying network health model: stronger bonds within a more cohesive healthy class reduced suicidal ideation and depression symptoms.<sup> </sup> These findings suggest that Wingman-Connect classes became increasingly unified around healthy norms and encouraged classmates who were vulnerable to mental health or occupational problems at a key juncture of military training, in addition to meeting their needs for belonging.
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| ==== '''''Help Seeking:''''' ====
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| ''The norms most strongly enhanced are students' perceptions that adults in their school can provide help and the acceptability of seeking help from adults.''
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| '''JAMA Open Network, October, 2020'''
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| '''Research Outcomes – Evidence Based Key Findings include:'''
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| * Increased class cohesion, morale, positive bonds, and acceptability of help seeking.
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| '''NIMH'''
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| Wyman has led research (NIH, CDC funded) testing this approach, which disseminates skills for social health through youth peer networks.<sup> </sup> The high-energy, interactive training improves student connectedness and coping norms, and protective effects spread school-wide including adult help for suicidal youth.<sup> </sup> A study aggregating three RCTs (N=78 schools; 39,900 students) showed fewer suicide deaths in schools implementing this approach. <sup> </sup>
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| '''Social Science & Medicine''' Social Science & Medicine 296 (2022) 114737
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| Wingman-Connect Program’s interactive training created more dynamic relationship networks. Airmen in W-CP groups made more changes in who they named as valued connections, even as the overall average number of valued connections increased.
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| '''Am J Public Health. 2010'''
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| Training improved the peer leaders' adaptive norms regarding suicide, their connectedness to adults, and their school engagement, with the largest gains for those entering with the least adaptive norms. Trained peer leaders in larger schools were 4 times as likely as were untrained peer leaders to refer a suicidal friend to an adult. Among students, the intervention increased perceptions of adult support for suicidal youths and the acceptability of seeking help.
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| The norms most strongly enhanced through the intervention were students' perceptions that adults in their school can provide help to suicidal students and the acceptability of seeking help from adults.
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| Adolescents are far more likely than are adults to be aware of suicidal behavior in their friends; increasing students' partnering with adults to help suicidal peers may be a key process for reducing adolescent suicidal behavior.
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| == Commentary on Key Findings: == | | == Commentary on Key Findings: == |
| A key result from meta analysis is that although many factors are believed to increase the risk of developing a mental health condition, but focusing on treatment those factors is not the most efficient way to reduce the prevalence of mental health conditions. [citation required]
| | To summarize the key findings in brief: |
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| Instead, building protective factors across a community, resulting in a widespread sense of belonging seems to be extremely effective in reducing the risk of mental health conditions.
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| Individuals who feel a sense of belonging in their community have the sklls and environment they need to become more involved and to actively seek the help they need.
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| To make that happen in a community (a school environment, for example), the school community must develop group cohesion. Group cohesion is created from strong, healthy connections between student peers and between students and trusted adult guides throughout the community. | |
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| To engage with one another optimally, a community must discover the strengths of individuals and groups. Discovery must be practiced and developed as a skill. Active learning and heavily [[peer-influenced]] activities and initiatives have been show to be effective as part of a methodology to kick-start discovery and ultimately lead to deep conversations, which are the most powerful method of learning and bonding in social networks.
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| When a whole school community is cohesive, and has strong, healthy connections throughout, it’s members become more activated, more engaged, and more energized. The time spent building healthy connections is repaid manyfold by a reduction in suicide, pruning and disciplinary incidents, by an increase in attendance and performance, and by an emotionally recharged community that spends the bulk of their time working preventatively, instead of performing interventions after disruptive and damaging incidents.
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| The makeup of a healthy school environment is unique to every school. A healthy school environment cannot be duplicated by simply following a written manual or video series and/or taking a one-time training - rather, such an environment is built by developing ecologically valid skills and practices that are unique to each community. These skills and practices become cultural norms that are developed across years of consistency of practice.
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| Defining the Social Network Health Approach within an integrated system of care:
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| This toolkit describes the Social Network Health Approach to preventative mental health care, drawing on published research from the University of Rochester Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide and from the implementations by preventative mental health care professionals in close cooperation with them.
| | Preventative care is one category within a holistic integrated system of care. Simplistically and fundamentally, it is critically important to address both Preventative and Emergency care within an integrated system. Many social factors increase the risk of developing a mental health condition. However, focusing on reactive treatment of those factors is not the most efficient way to reduce the onset of mental health conditions. Instead, building protective factors across a community, which results in a widespread sense of belonging, appears to be extremely effective in reducing risk factors. |
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| Preventative care is only one category of care within a holistic integrated system of mental health care. Simplistically and fundamentally, it is critically important to address both Preventative and Emergency care within an integrated system. Preventative care is clearly preferable, when effective, to emergency care when the risk of suicide is in play.
| | The makeup of a healthy school environment is unique to every school. A healthy school environment cannot be duplicated by simply following a written manual or video series and/or taking a one-time training. Building a healthy culture needs to be intentionally approached by developing ecologically valid skills and practices that are unique to each community. Research has shown that the time spent building healthy connections and protective factors tends to provide a reduction in suicide ideation, social pruning, documented disciplinary incidents, and health and wellbeing of the entire community. |
