Why robustness?

Why strengthens youth's robustness?

Robustness prevents crime and protects against potential social problems. Robustness helps youth to live, to care and to say no. Robustness strengthens quality of life, mental health and life management skills. Robustness strengthens young people's ability to deal with defeat and difficult situations. Robustness strengthens young people’s ability to deal with resistance and crisis.

Why strengthen robust cultures and relations where everyone is included?

Robustness is more than just an individual trait. Robustness is also a relation. When we interact with other people our robustness is either strengthened or weakened. Safety, courage, self-esteem, sense of mastery and sense of belonging are strengthened when robust cultures and relations are created.

Research on crime and violence show that people who end up in criminal or extremist environments often have felt like failures. They don’t have as much support from their friends and families as most people do. They feel that society never really gave them a chance. They got bad grades at school or experienced disappointment in other ways. They often exhibit a deep desire for acceptance. They have experienced a lot of social rejection at school. They feel like they do not belong. They have experienced social exclusion from a young age and has a strong desire to belong somewhere. Criminal and violent extremist environments are usually great at offering youth somewhere to belong. Thus, it is of vital importance that good and healthy environments enter the picture first, and at an early stage, by offering a positive culture where everyone is included.

People who destroy their own and other’s lives, are often people who have been part of excluding environments. A consequence of this is behaviour based on acceptance, and sometimes to be accepted at any cost.

People ruining their own and other's lives are often recognized by having been exposed to many external risk factors and having experienced a lot of negative response at young age. They have little or nothing positive to say about themselves and are very vulnerable.

By strengthening young people’s robustness, there is less need for repairing adults

Strengthening youth’s robustness is the key to a warmer and safer society and a safer world, with less ruining of people’s lives and society.