Strengths-Based Prevention

A new way of thinking about prevention that focuses on building assets and resources.

This book provides practitioners and researchers with the means to make more impactful choices in the design and implementation of prevention programs.

Drawing from state-of-the-art research on a range of behavior problems such as violence, drug abuse, suicide, and risky sexual activity, Victoria Banyard and Sherry Hamby present a strengths-based approach to prevention.

Historically, most prevention efforts have focused too much on admonishment and knowledge transfer, despite years of evidence that such programs are ineffective. Effective prevention must be grounded in a broad understanding of what works, what does not, and how different forms of risky behavior share common elements.

This book synthesizes research on behavior change from a variety of disciplines, including psychology, public health, sociology, criminology, resilience science, critical race theory, and even urban planning. It emphasizes the importance of building enough protective strengths to insulate people from risks.

Acknowledgments

• Chapter 1. The Past, Present, and Future of Prevention

I. The Current State of Prevention Science

• Chapter 2. Theoretical Models for Prevention: Strengths and Weaknesses
• Chapter 3. Why Doesn't Prevention Work Better? The State of Prevention Research
• Chapter 4. Identity and Marginalization: What Prevention Providers Need to Know
• Chapter 5. Using a Social Justice Lens for Prevention

II. A Strengths-Based Approach to Prevention

• Chapter 6. From Risk to Resilience
• Chapter 7. A Developmental View of Prevention: From Static and Siloed to Trajectories and Transitions
• Chapter 8. Promoting Behavior Regulation
• Chapter 9. The Role of Relational and Community Strengths

III. Looking Ahead

• Chapter 10. Toward the Next Generation of Prevention: A Research and Theoretical Agenda
• Chapter 11. The Prevention Portfolio Model: Practice and Policy Recommendations

References

Victoria Banyard, PhD, is a professor in the School of Social Work at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and the associate director of the Center on Violence Against Women and Children. Dr. Banyard received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan with a certificate in Women’s Studies.

She has authored over 150 publications on resilience in the face of interpersonal violence, evaluating the effectiveness of sexual and relationship violence prevention programs, and understanding how to mobilize bystander interventions to prevent violence.

Sherry Hamby, PhD, is research professor of psychology at the University of the South, Sewanee, and director of Life Paths Research Center. She is also founding editor of the APA journal, Psychology of Violence, and founder and cochair of ResilienceCon.

Dr. Hamby is an internationally recognized authority on victimization and trauma who is best known for her work in poly-victimization and resilience. Her awards include Outstanding Contribution to the Science of Trauma Psychology from APA. Dr. Hamby’s work has appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, CBS News, and hundreds of other media outlets.

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