Cumming Jennifer, Clarke Fiona J, Holland Mark J G, Parry Benjamin J, Quinton Mary L, Cooley Sam J
School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 11;19(6):3320. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063320.
My Strengths Training for Life™ (MST4Life™) is a positive youth development program for improving wellbeing and social inclusion in young people experiencing homelessness. MST4Life™ addresses a gap in strengths-based programs aimed at promoting healthy and optimal development in vulnerable older adolescents/emerging adults. The program was co-developed with a UK housing service as part of a long-term (>8 years) community−academic partnership. This mixed-methods study describes a key step in developing and evaluating the program: exploring its feasibility and acceptability with 15 homeless young people (Mean age = 19.99 years, SD = 2.42; 60% male, 40% female). Participants experienced 8 weekly sessions within their local community, followed by a 4-day/3-night residential outdoor adventure trip. In addition to their attendance records, the viewpoints of the participants and their support workers were obtained using diary rooms and focus groups. Feasibility was indicated via the themes of attendance, engagement, and reaction. The findings suggested that young people enjoyed and perceived a need for the program, that they considered the program and its evaluation methods to be acceptable, and that both the community-based and outdoor adventure residential phases could be implemented as planned. Minor modifications are needed to recruitment strategies before it is more widely rolled out and evaluated.
“我的终身力量训练”（MST4Life™）是一项积极的青少年发展项目，旨在改善无家可归青少年的幸福感和社会融入度。MST4Life™填补了旨在促进弱势大龄青少年/新兴成年人健康和最佳发展的基于优势的项目的空白。该项目是与英国一家住房服务机构共同开发的，作为一项长期（超过8年）社区 - 学术伙伴关系的一部分。这项混合方法研究描述了该项目开发和评估中的一个关键步骤：与15名无家可归青少年（平均年龄 = 19.99岁，标准差 = 2.42；60%为男性，40%为女性）探讨其可行性和可接受性。参与者在当地社区参加了8次每周的课程，随后进行了为期4天/3晚的户外冒险住宿旅行。除了他们的出勤记录外，还通过日记室和焦点小组获取了参与者及其支持人员的观点。通过出勤、参与度和反应等主题表明了可行性。研究结果表明，年轻人喜欢该项目并认为有必要开展，他们认为该项目及其评估方法是可以接受的，并且基于社区的阶段和户外冒险住宿阶段都可以按计划实施。在更广泛地推广和评估之前，需要对招募策略进行一些小的修改。
