Survey feature
Youth Voices Count now shows which protective factors matter most locally
Survey results usually focus on problems. A statistical significance package in the Youth Voices Count Survey points communities toward the strengths that protect their young people.
Most youth survey reports lead with the hard numbers: how many students vaped in the past month, how many felt sad or hopeless. Those numbers matter. But they only tell a community what to worry about, not what is already working.
The Youth Voices Count Survey asks students about protective factors too. These are the things in a young person's life that make negative outcomes less likely, such as a trusted adult at school, clear family rules or a sense of belonging in the community.
From a list of strengths to the ones that count
Knowing that most students have a trusted adult is useful. Knowing that, in your town, students with a trusted adult are much less likely to report using substances is something you can build a program around.
That is what the statistical significance package does. It tests which protective factors are linked to better outcomes for the young people in your community, and flags the links that are strong enough to rely on. Every community is different, so the factors that stand out in one town may not be the same ones that stand out in the next.
Using it
Coalitions use these results to choose strategies, to explain to funders why a program fits local needs, and to share a more hopeful message with parents and students. Schools use them to see which parts of school connection are already paying off.
The package is included with the survey. If you would like to see a sample, schedule a call and we will walk you through one.
“The Youth Voices Count Survey data allowed us to clearly articulate the trends we have seen in increased risky behavior of our students. We believe that this quantitative data was instrumental in securing over $500,000 in competitive grant funds for our schools.”
What the package shows
- Which protective factors are linked, in your own data, to lower rates of substance use and better mental health.
- Where those links are strong enough to be statistically significant, and where they are not.
- Plain language tables a coalition or school team can read without a statistics background.
- A starting point for programs that build on strengths instead of only reacting to risk.
A protective factor is a characteristic of a young person, family, school or community that lowers the chance of a negative outcome. Statistical significance tells you a link is unlikely to be due to chance alone. It does not by itself prove cause.
About B. Weyland Smith Consulting
B. Weyland Smith Consulting, LLC is a public health consulting team based in Wethersfield, Connecticut. It provides program evaluation, needs assessment, survey services and grant preparation for school districts, prevention coalitions, health departments, behavioral health providers, towns and nonprofits, and runs the Youth Voices Count Survey and the Sound Perspectives school climate assessment. Learn more at bwsmithconsulting.com.