Modified Social Stress Model
The Modified Social Stress Model (MSSM) was originally constructed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a framework for understanding substance abuse by an individual or within a community. The MSSM tool has proven useful in planning, assessing action, guiding program development, and in evaluating programs or communities. TYPS has further adapted this model as an assessment tool for several youth risk behaviours, including substance abuse, youth crime, and suicide/depression.
The value of the MSSM can be seen in the TYPS Tri-Model, where several best practices are supported and interlinked through this overall concept. When first learning to use the MSSM, individuals are quickly impressed by the logic and ability to analyze a project or problem using the six factors in the mode. When a group uses the MSSM, the exercise is consistent with PAR/PE principles of collectively identifying a problem, analyzing and researching different aspects of the problem from the local knowledge and stakeholders’ expertise, and planning actions by all stakeholders involved to create change. MSSM is also consistent with the Mentoring Model as it recognizes there will be an on-going supportive role between each person involved, regardless of age, to learn the skills and information needed to complete the task and benefit from the results.
The MSSM can be understood as an assessment of the likelihood of risk behaviours (substance abuse, youth crime, and suicide/depression) that are products of two overall issues: risk factors vs. protective factors. The more prevalent the risk factors or the more absent the protective factors, the greater the overall risk. The model recognizes that nobody’s life and no program can be completely risk-free, as some risks are imposed upon our lives or are parts of our community and culture. However, the MSSM is a means for analyzing those risks and finding counter-balances to reduce the overall impacts of the risks, while identifying possible means of adding or enhancing the protective factors.
MODIFIED SOCIAL STRESS MODEL
Risk factors
Probability of high-risk behavior
(Dis)Stress + Normalization + Risky behavior
Experience Attachments + Skills + Resources
Protective factors
The MSSM assesses the potential of risk behaviours through three sub-groups of risk factors and three sub-groups of protective factors.
Risk factors include:
Stress
Individualized, recent and long-term situations (family break-ups, boyfriend/girlfriend problems, school issues, lack of money/job, personal identity issues)
Poor personal stress coping abilities (lack of resiliency)
No close friends or trusted family
Minimal community resources for affordable exercise, recreation, pro-social interactions, support services (health, counselling, etc.)
Living in an area/region where stresses are environmental (high population density, crime, pollution, unemployment, etc)
Normalization
Individual comes from family where risk behaviour is common (drugs, criminal involvement, suicides, etc.)
Lives in a neighbourhood or community where risk behaviours are common
Lives in a culture where these risk behaviours are a “norm”
Police, politicians, and government do little to address the risk behaviours
Risk Experience
Individual has previously engaged in these risk behaviours without any “immediate” harm (didn’t die, not in jail for long)
Individual is supported by peers or family in the risk behaviour (encouraged use of drugs or doing crime as part of the group dynamics in belonging)
Having survived or succeeded in having experienced a risk behaviour adds to the person’s mistaken belief that they are immune from the potential harms
Using the MSSM and plotting each factor as a positive or negative within a community or for an individual in your program, provides a formula to assess the level of risk that is current and how a program/action plan can reduce that risk. If a program reduces or provides a means to better manage the risk factors for its participants while re-enforcing or helping to develop new protective factors the program should be supported.
The youth centres and youth groups that actively used the MSSM to plan and assess their programs and operations found their programs were successful and easier to explain to funders and stakeholders. The MSSM provided a means to describe the benefits and evaluate results.
Protective factors
Attachments
Connection (or lack of) with other persons, places, or things
Connection with a pro-social group or organization (churches, social groups, etc.)
Negative attachments (only friends are drug users, criminals, connections with prison)
Skills
Positive skills (literate, trade skills, computer skills, communications skills)
Negative skills (dropped out of school, illiterate, crime skills)
Life skills, living skills, interpersonal skills
Resources
People, places, and things
Have access to counsellors, financial advisors, teachers, positive peer support, police, health care workers, service clubs, etc.
Community centres, recreation centres, youth centres, schools, libraries, internet access sites, outdoor recreation, safe neighbourhood, youth centres, hospitals and health centres, banks, employment services office, etc.
HAUNTED HOUSE :
The MSSM can be used to assess the value of a program or activity, for example when a youth center organizes a haunted house as part of its annual activities. A quick assessment is as follows:
