Abstract
The article considers the method of alternative activity as a way of empowerment and of increasing the client`s motivation to change a problem behavior in the technology of secondary or tertiary prevention. In particular, the authors highlight the main principles of the method; describe the algorithm of its implementation, its main characteristics and its impact on the growth of the client`s motivation to change the problem behavior through engagement in the alternative activities. In addition, three examples of the method application in preventive projects with different target groups are presented. Thus, the article argues the relevance of the method of alternative activity in preventive social work with different groups of clients.
Highlights
The method of alternative activity is one of the current methods in the technology of secondary or tertiary prevention
The theoretical foundations of the effectiveness of the method of alternative activity are based on the cognitive-behavioral theory: the process of reinforcement of behavior by the significant others (Bandura, 1977), the cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957), the process of change of behavior through increasing of the clients internal motivation (Prochaska&DiClemente, 1986)
In the Ukrainian scientific context, the alternative activity is presented by Bezpalko (2009) and Zhuravel (2013) as an adjacent block of the prevention programs
Summary
The method of alternative activity is one of the current methods in the technology of secondary or tertiary prevention. The theoretical foundations of the effectiveness of the method of alternative activity are based on the cognitive-behavioral theory: the process of reinforcement of behavior by the significant others (Bandura, 1977), the cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957), the process of change of behavior through increasing of the clients internal motivation (Prochaska&DiClemente, 1986). In the Ukrainian scientific context, the alternative activity is presented by Bezpalko (2009) and Zhuravel (2013) as an adjacent block of the prevention programs. The first author presents the alternative activity as one of the preventions programs, namely a proposal of a positive action that would ensure to the individual strong feelings, an alternative to the deviant behavior that he/she already demonstrates. According to Zhuravel (2013) the alternative activity is an adjacent block of the prevention programs that, along with creating a supportive environment (another adjacent block), aims to reinforce the different components of the preventions programs: cognitive, emotional, behavioral and value
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