Overview of Risk and Protective Factors

A Four-Pronged Approach to Evidence-Based Practice in School

Decrease stress/risk factors Increase protective factors Train in core skills Implement manualized interventions

Mental Health
Decrease stress/risk factors Increase protective factors

Train in core skills Implement manualized interventions

Paradigm Shift
Providers and programs are being encouraged to focus more on fostering resiliency and less on identifying pathology Resilient individuals are more likely to be able to withstand stress and avoid negative outcomes

What are risk and protective factors?

Risk/stress factor: A condition that increases the probability of a disorder (e.g., abuse, neglect, violence exposure, poor health care). Protective factor: A condition that inhibits, reduces, or buffers the probability of a disorder (e.g., parental monitoring, problem-solving skills, school connectedness).

 Risk and protective factors encompass psychological, behavioral, family, and social characteristics. Children and adolescents under excessive stress with few protective factors are most at risk for emotional, behavioral, and other problems, while children and adolescents with relatively low stress and many protective factors are least at risk for problems.

 A number of risk/stress and protective factors have been shown to correlate with child mental health and well-being, and have been documented as areas to focus interventions with youth in order to promote their mental health.

Could someone help me with these? Im late for math class.

Adolescent Health Study (1997)

Dr Michael Resnick, Adolescent Health Program, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Initial sample: 91,000 adolescents (7th 12th graders) Followed 20,000 over one year Goal: Understand the determinants of health and risk behavior among American youth (Individual, Family, School, and Community)

Adolescent Health Study: Protective Factors

Connectedness with Family/Parents
Perceived Availability emotional availability of parents

Connectedness with School

Fairness of teachers Caring teachers Sense of belongingness Academic Success Note: Size of school, private/public/religious, student:teacher ratio did not predict outcomes

Outcomes
Less likely to:
Use cigarettes Use alcohol Use marijuana Initiate sex early Attempt suicide

Adolescent Health Study: Risk Factors

Access to guns in the home suicidality, involvement in interpersonal violence Access to tobacco, alcohol, illicit substances More likely to use

Repeating a grade in school engagement in risky behaviors, greater distress

Working > 20 hours/week More likely to use cigarettes, more distressed, more likely to get involved with kids engaging in risky behaviors

The Asset Approach

Search Institute, non-profit organization Since 1989, research on developmental assets that promote healthy behavior in youth

Current framework: 40 developmental assets

Based on research with 217,000 sixth to twelfth graders in 318 communities: consistent relationship between the number of assets present in young peoples lives and the degree to which they develop in positive and healthful ways

Assets
Receive Support Neighbors Encourage Feel Safe Adult Positive Models Feel Valued Family has Standards Parents feel that the school helps Want to do well Read for Pleasure Stand up for Beliefs Accept Responsibility Resist Peer Pressure Optimistic Life has Purpose

Assets Protective Functions

Source: The Asset Approach: Giving Kids What They Need to Succeed (Search Institute, 1997)
70
P e r c e n t a g e s

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Problem Alcohol Use Illicit Drug Use Sexual Activity Violence 10 or less 30 or more

How Many Assets are Needed?

While there is no magic number of assets, 31 is a good benchmark for experiencing their positive effects most strongly The average young person surveyed in the United States experiences only 19.3 of the 40 assets. Overall, 56% of young people surveyed have fewer than 20 of the 40 assets.

Social Development Model

Social Development Research Group, University of Washington J. David Hawkins, Director, Richard Catalano, Associate Director Risk and Protective Factors associated with health and risk behaviors in youth

Social Development Model

Two key protective factors:
bonding to prosocial family, school and peers clear standards or norms for behavior

Three processes that promote these protective factors:

opportunities for involvement in productive prosocial roles skills to be successfully involved in these roles consistent systems of recognition and reinforcement for prosocial involvement

Buffer against: conduct problems, school misbehavior, truancy, and drug abuse

Individual Protective Factors

being easy to get along with

having good social skills

feeling empathy having a positive and optimistic outlook taking responsibility for his/her actions having a sense of personal identity

Individual Protective Factors

having a strong sense of what is right and wrong having defined goals for the future believing in ones self asking for help having good problem-solving skills being proactive

Family, School, Community Protective Factors

caring relationships with adults who support the students and model healthy behavior family cohesion positive and high expectations that the student will succeed opportunities for meaningful participation in relevant, engaging activities

Individual Risk Factors

Impulsivity Aggressive/violent behavior Disregard for others Sensation seeking Language problems Poor interpersonal boundaries Affiliates with anti-social youth Disconnected from school Hopelessness

Individual Risk Factors

Negative self-concept/Low self-esteem Prenatal exposure to drugs/alcohol Low birth weight Poor/irregular attachment Unsatisfactory relationships Biological risk factors (head injury, infection, nutrition, exposure to toxins) Acute health condition

Individual Risk Factors

Low intelligence Attention deficits Apathy or emotional blunting Emotional immaturity Poor scholastic work skills Delinquency Substance abuse Stressful life events

Family Risk Factors

Family history of mental illness Parental crime/incarceration Familial abuse/neglect Familial substance abuse Lack of parental support Family isolation Large family size Death of a caregiver Physical/mental illness of a loved one

School/Community Risk Factors

Underachieving schools
Peer rejection/isolation Poverty

Limited access to health/mental health care

Poor community resources Neighborhood crime and violence

Few recreational outlets

Social discrimination Overcrowding

Exposure to trauma/violence

This is Your Lifeline!