Focuses on Reinforcing Protective Factors and Increasing Perceptions of Personal Risk and Harmfulness of Engaging in Specific Unhealthy Practices and Behaviors

Description: This characteristic provides opportunities for students to examine current protective factors in their lives and think about ways to increase the modifiable protective factors. Protective factors are assets (internal to individuals) and resources (external to individuals) that counteract, reduce, or eliminate the adverse effects of risk factors.¹  Protective factors can be fixed, meaning they don’t change over time — for example, not being genetically predisposed to addiction. Protective factors can also be modifiable, meaning they can be changed over time. Examples of modifiable protective factors include having a strong social support system (i.e., family, peers), being successful in school academically, feeling connected to classmates and teachers, and participating in community engagement. Effective health education curricula focus on strengthening and reinforcing modifiable protective factors related to the topic being taught.

An effective curriculum also provides instructional strategies for students to assess their vulnerability to health problems, determine their actual risk of engaging in harmful health behaviors, and evaluate their exposure to unhealthy situations.

Example 1

The unit that is being taught is Mental and Emotional Health, and the HBOs for the activity are MEH-1: Express feelings in a healthy way and MEH-4: Prevent and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. The teacher begins this activity by posting the words “grief and loss” on the whiteboard. As students enter the classroom, they are given a slip of paper and asked to write down what comes to mind when they hear the words “grief and loss.” What emotions may a young person feel when they experience a loss of something important to them (e.g., family member, pet, breakup of a friendship)? The teacher processes their responses and explains that we all have experienced a loss of some type in our lives that can sometimes make us feel stressed, anxious, and sad. It may also be very difficult to manage our emotions and feelings in a healthy way.
2. The teacher introduces the term “protective factors,” which refers to the kind of things that help protect us from risky or dangerous things. Protective factors create an environment that supports us in managing emotional stress and anxiety. Protective factors can be related to the individual (e.g., connectedness), family (e.g., feeling loved by family), school (e.g., getting good grades), and community (e.g., engagement in extracurricular activities).
3. The teacher pairs students into groups of three and asks students to brainstorm a list of protective factors in each area (individual, family, school, community) that would help them to express their feelings and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways.
4. Students are then asked to report on their answers. Examples of mental and emotional health protective factors can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/riskprotectivefactors.html and https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/about/copingwith-stresstips.html
5. The teacher engages in a discussion on the benefits of talking with a trusted adult about feelings and emotions, and the class discusses strategies to help identify a trusted adult. The teacher should emphasize that the more protective factors a young person has in their life, the more likely they will be able to prevent and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways.
6. The teacher asks students to list on their slips of paper one protective factor they could include or add in their lives and explain how it could help them live healthy and happy lives.

Example 2

The unit that is being taught is Personal Health and Wellness, and the HBO for the lesson is PHW-4: Prevent damage from the sun (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. The focus for this activity is on preventing damage from the sun. Prior to this activity, students have been taught about the risk of sun exposure, the seriousness of protecting oneself from the sun, and sun safety measures:

   

   1. Wearing sunscreen
   2. Wearing a sun-protective hat
   3. Wearing long-sleeve shirts and pants (covering arms and legs)
   4. Wearing UV-blocking sunglasses
2. Students have also started personal wellness plans in which they will identify healthy behaviors they want to practice.
3. Students are asked to respond to several questions to assess their risk for sun exposure. They are asked to circle the answer (Never, Sometimes, or Always) that best describes their sun safety behavior for each item. Examples of behaviors include the following:

   a. I wear sunscreen of SPF 15 or above.	Never Sometimes Always Not Applicable
   b. I reapply sunscreen every two hours.	Never Sometimes Always Not Applicable
   c. I follow the recommended sunscreen dose on the bottle.	Never Sometimes Always Not Applicable
   d. I wear a wide-brimmed hat when I am outside.	Never Sometimes Always Not Applicable
   e. I wear long-sleeve shirts and pants.	Never Sometimes Always Not Applicable
   f. I wear UV-blocking sunglasses when I drive.	Never Sometimes Always Not Applicable
   g. I avoid sunlamps and tanning beds.	Never Sometimes Always Not Applicable
   h. I minimize exposure to the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.	Never Sometimes Always Not Applicable
   i. I seek shade when I can.	Never Sometimes Always Not Applicable

After students have circled their answers, students are asked to choose one item that they have circled as “Sometimes” or “Never.” They are then asked to find a partner who has selected the same item. Each pair is then asked to brainstorm reasons why their selected activity contributes to skin damage and what they are going to do to prevent their skin damage from the sun. Students share one strategy they will incorporate into their personal wellness plan.

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