EDUCATION FOR SD AS A CONTRIBUTION TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE

1. EDUCATION FOR SD AS A CONTRIBUTION TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE Josipa Mihić, PhD. University of Zagreb, Croatia

2. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SD • MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS • MENTAL HEALTH PROMOTION • SEL AS A CONTRIBUTION TO MENTAL HEALTH AND POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT

3. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

4. Environmental health addresses all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to a person, and all the related factors impacting behaviours. • It encompasses the assessment and control of those environmental factors that can potentially affect health. • It is targeted towards preventing disease and creating health-supportive environments. (WHO)

5. There is an inter-relationship betweenpeople and their natural environment. (Wilson,1984) • In oururbanized societies, the natural environment appearsto have little to do with our daily lives, but itremains vital to our health. • Natural environmentsthat are functional and accessible serve as apositive determinant of human health. (WHO, 2005)

6. The 2002 World Summit made explicit linksbetween:

7. The United Nations Commission on HumanRights decision in April 2003: ‘Protection of the environmentand sustainabledevelopment can also contribute to humanwell-being...The existence of clean air, cleanwater, a stable climate, thriving wildlife andwell managednaturalresourcesdeterminestheextentto which people can enjoy their basic rights to life,health, food…’.

8. Contact and access to naturecan contribute to physical and mental well-being ofindividuals, and the development of social capital. (Henwood, 2002, Seymour, 2004, Sempic, et al., 2002) • The personal health benefits of access caninclude: - stress reduction, - increased levels of physical activity, - alleviation of the anxiety symptoms,and - reductionofpsychosis.

9. Pretty et al. (2005) assessed themood of people engaged in active participationin natureusing standardized Profile for Moods State test(POMS) and compared this to POMS profiles ofpeople active in gyms. • They found that the POMSprofile of people actively participating or involvedwith nature shifted positively. In other words,people felt less depressedandmorerelaxed.

10. Clinical psychologists have studied the benefits ofviewing nature. Two studies by Ulrich (1981,1984) are wellknown. In the first he compared hospital patientswith views of nature and those with views of otherbuildings, and found that patients viewing naturerecovered from surgery more quickly and requiredless pain relief. • The other study compared thestress levels of car driversstuck in traffic inattractive natural surroundings with those stuck in traffic in densely built up areas, and found thatthose who could view nature exhibited lower levelsofstress.

11. MENTAL HEALTH

12. MENTAL HEALTH • "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease.„ • „Astate of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.” (WHO)

13. Positive MHis crucial in today’s society- it has power to stimulate growth and development and contribute to prosperity, solidarity, social justice and increased quality of life across the world. • According to the Global Burden of Disease Study (1996), the burden of mental, emotional and behavioural problems has been seriously underestimated. • Predictions suggest that by 2020, the disease burden of MHconditions in the world may increase to almost 15%.

14. Mental health promotion implies the creation of individual, social and environmental conditions that empower and enable optimal health and development. (Jané-Llopis et al., 2010) • In general, mental health promotion is any action taken to maximize mental health and wellbeing among populations and individuals. (Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, 2000)

15. Mental health promotion interventions aim to enhance individuals’ ability to achievedevelopmentally appropriate tasks (competence) and a positive sense of self-esteem, mastery, well-being, and social inclusion, and strengthen their ability to cope with adversity. (SAMHSA, 2007a; WHO, 2004; O’Connell, Boat and Warner,2009) • It focuses on improving environments (social, physical and economic) that affect mental health and enhancing the coping capacity of communities as well as individuals. (Wood and Wise, 1997)

16. SEL AS A CONTRIBUTION TO MH AND POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT

17. ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION DEPRESSION DRUG ABUSE AGGRESIVENESS RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR ANXIETY DELINQUENCY SOCIO-EMOTIONAL SKILLS COMMON RISK FACTORS COMMON PROTECTIVE FACTORS

18. MENTAL WELLBEING WELL DEVELOPED SOCIO-EMOTIONAL SKILLS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT

19. HOW TO PROMOTE SEL IN SCHOOLS?

21. PATHS - Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies • science based preschool and school universal prevention program focused on thedevelopmentandpromotion of SE competences • authors Greenberg, M., Kusche, C., Domitrovich, Cortes, R. PreventionResearchCenter, Penn State University, USA • model prevention program (SAMHSA) • implementedin more than30 countrieswordlwide • delivered by classroom or preschoolteachers

22. PATHS - Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (1) Emotional understanding and self-control (2) Interpersonal problem solvingskills (3) Quality relations with peers (4) Self-esteem

33. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfcFWrckoLg • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbEKAwCoCKw • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSiHjMU-MUo