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Why Study Risk Factors?
Several juvenile justice researchers have linked risk
factors to delinquency (Hawkins et al., 1998;
Lipsey and Derzon, 1998), and many have also
noted a multiplicative effect if several risk factors
are present. Herrenkohl and colleagues (2000)
report that a 10-year-old exposed to six or more
risk factors is 10 times as likely to commit a violent
act by age 18 as a 10-year-old exposed to only one
risk factor.
Similarly, the age range or developmental period
during which a youth is exposed to a specific risk
factor is important to individuals working to tailor
prevention programs to specific factors. Youth
Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General (2001
(chapter 4)) elaborates:
Violence prevention and intervention
efforts hinge on identifying risk and
protective factors and determining when in
the course of development they emerge. To
be effective, such efforts must be
appropriate to a youth's stage of
development. A program that is effective in
childhood may be ineffective in
adolescence and vice versa. Moreover, the
risk and protective factors targeted by
violence prevention may be different from
those targeted by intervention programs
which are designed to prevent the
recurrence of violence.
The study of risk factors, therefore, is critical to the
enhancement of prevention programs that frequently
have limited staffing and funding. Identifying which
risk factors may cause delinquency for particular
sets of youth at specific stages of their development
may help programs target their efforts in a more
efficient and cost-effective manner. The table, which was adapted from a report by the Office of the Surgeon General, categorizes risk
factors by age of onset of delinquency and identifies
corresponding protective factors.
Risk and Protective Factors,
by Domain |
Risk Factor
|
Domain
|
Early Onset
(ages 6-11) |
Late Onset
(ages 12-14) |
Protective
Factor* |
Individual
|
General
offenses Substance use
Being male
Aggression**
Hyperactivity
Problem (antisocial) behavior
Exposure to television
violence
Medical, physical problems
Low IQ
Antisocial attitudes, beliefs
Dishonesty** |
General
offenses
Restlessness
Difficulty concentrating**
Risk taking
Aggression**
Being male
Physical violence
Antisocial attitudes, beliefs
Crimes against persons
Problem (antisocial) behavior
Low IQ
Substance use |
Intolerant
attitude toward
deviance
High IQ
Being female
Positive social orientation
Perceived sanctions for
transgressions |
Family
|
Low socioeconomic
status/poverty
Antisocial parents
Poor parent-child relationship
Harsh, lax, or inconsistent
discipline
Broken home
Separation from parents
Other conditions
Abusive parents
Neglect |
Poor parent-child
relationship
Harsh or lax discipline
Poor monitoring, supervision
Low parental involvement
Antisocial parents
Broken home
Low socioeconomic
status/poverty
Abusive parents
Family conflict** |
Warm, supportive
relationships with
parents or other adults
Parents' positive
evaluation of peers
Parental monitoring |
School
|
Poor attitude,
performance |
Poor
attitude, performance
Academic failure |
Commitment
to school
Recognition for
involvement in
conventional activities |
Peer group
|
Weak social
ties
Antisocial peers |
Weak social
ties
Antisocial, delinquent peers
Gang membership |
Friends
who engage in conventional behavior |
Community
|
|
Neighborhood
crime, drugs
Neighborhood disorganization |
|
* Age of onset not
known.
** Males only.
Source: Adapted from Office of the Surgeon General,
2001.
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