Table 5.

Protective factors: strengths.

Sub themes	Illustrative quotes
Laughing/Humour	“I just like watching movies, any movies that make me laugh and settle down” “When I have family problems at home, when we all argue over something… [I say] ‘you stay here, I am going [for a] walk’ and I clear my mind out … [then] I just do something really stupid to make them laugh and that tension is just gone…”
Going Bush	“Getting out of the city [will help] - away from all the noise and drama and chaos” “[Bush is] like freedom… Stressors and worries, they will go away quickly if you go out to the bush…”
Family and Friends	“[Friends]… do good things for him, stay a little bit better and stop sniffing [solvents]… at peace, sleep. He is thinking more about family and he is open to them. Here is his mother, his little brother, his grandmother. He is little. They make him feel better because he is happy… he is playing with his little brother, he is at home, he has TV [television], his friends and his little brother…” “Be a friend… if you see them and they are alone, go up and talk to them and don't just walk past them. You could do something with them to take their mind off things… something just like fun. Even just hanging out at home together watching movies…”
Keeping active	“Sport… releases endorphins which make you happy” “Get things off your mind… go for a walk, swimming, exercise, training”
Feeling healthy/Looking good	“… go walk with him, clear his head out… tell him go shower, help him feel better… tell him, do his eyebrows” “When he has improved his appearance, he might feel better about himself… more confident”
Help from a trusted person	“Seek help, talk to someone… [a] professional… teacher… trusted adult… friend” “Take him clinic, get him tablet for his heart and tummy, settle him down” “…if they were hurting themselves, that's when you need to get serious help… Like a trusted adult. Maybe go to a parent…”
Good Sleep	“She needs to go to bed early and not like stay up thinking about it” “Work probably makes him tired so he sleeps better”
Medication	“Medication, yeah I think it does [help]. I don't know what is in there, but doctors say that it helps so we follow their orders” “If they are like people who actually need the medication then yeah [it helps]”
Future thinking/Positive thinking	“Work your thinking out, like what I am going to do in the future” “…it is good to just isolate yourself, to find yourself, calm yourself and then when you feel alright come back [to the situation]. If you can't change it, then change the way you think about it…”
Music and Art	“It [painting] stops me thinking too much. When I am angry, I come and sit down and paint” “Sometimes when people are angry they listen to music on their phone and go for a walk”
Culture	“Sitting around the fire, tell stories… music… culture dance, go out bush, get the tree and smoking ceremony, healing tree” “Bush tucker, camping, hunting, countryside… yeah all of those songs [traditional music]”