Pathways to Resilience III: Beyond Nature vs. Nurture

Abstract #283
Violence Prevention Program for At Risk Youth in Guatemala 
Presenter: Tannia Castaneda  
Abstract:
The purpose of this poster is to show counseling and mental health interventions conducted in a technical education program with at risk youth. The young people who joined the program, from identified “red zones”, immerse in a context of adversity such as high rates of violence, poverty and lack of opportunities in Guatemala. Despite the difficult environment that the youth face, they choose to pursue education to obtain technical degrees. The program included the participation of two cohorts of students enrolled in a 2-year Computer-Programming Plan, parents and key personnel at the educational institution. Through workshops in topics of self-awareness, problem solving, personal life project, group and individual counseling, they revealed information about resources and influences that had been helpful for them to overcome adversity. Students’ perception was recollected before and after the counseling interventions with a Furlong’s well-being scale. Based on results from the program, this poster would also present suggestions for future steps to make research on resilience to explore in depth the experiences of these young students to understand their protective processes, roles of families, schools, culture and community that lead them to look for self-improvement while others in the same context of adversity do not.