Risk and Protective Factors

No single factor explains why some youth perpetrate or become a victim of violence or why violence is more prevalent in some places than others. Violence results from a complex interplay of a variety of factors.

Understanding the range of factors that put youth at risk for violence or protect them from experiencing or perpetrating violence makes it possible to develop comprehensive, multilevel, evidence-basedstrategies to prevent and eliminate violence and improve overall child well-being.

Individual

Biological and personal history factors can increase the likelihood of becoming a victim or perpetrator of violence. These can include physical and cognitive challenges (e.g., fetal alcohol disorders, learning disorders), impulsive or aggressive tendencies, history of trauma (including involvement with foster care and homelessness), exposure to violence, and involvement with drugs or alcohol.

Other factors can buffer young people from the risks of becoming violent, even if they have experienced the other kinds of risk factors listed above. These include academic achievement, high educational aspirations, positive social orientation, and highly developed social skills/competencies.

Relationships

The close relationships in a young person’s life can either increase or reduce the risk of experiencing violence as a victim or perpetrator. A person’s closest social circle—-peers, partners, and family members—influences their behavior and contributes to their experience. 

Risk factors at the family level include: authoritarian childrearing attitudes, low parental involvement, poor family functioning, and parental substance abuse or history of criminal involvement. Peer and social risk factors include involvement in gangs and social rejection by peers. 

Protective factors that can reduce the risk of violence include connectedness to family or other caring adults, frequent and positive shared activities with parents, positive engagement with teachers in supportive school climates, and involvement in prosocial activities.

School, Community, and Society

Other factors often overlooked are settings in which social relationships occur, such as schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Characteristics of these settings can increase or decrease the risk of violence. Broad societal factors can also play a role since they can create a climate in which violence is either encouraged or inhibited. 

Risk factors can include aspects of the built environment (e.g., high concentrations of poor residents, design factors, such as open and green spaces, lighting, etc.), social environment (e.g., diminished economic opportunities, low levels of community participation, socially disorganized neighborhoods), community-level trauma (e.g., historical trauma, chronic exposure to violence), other environmental factors (e.g., lead and other toxic substances and their relationship to neurological functioning and brain development), prevailing cultural and societal norms, and the interaction of youth and families with community institutions, including schools, police, courts, child welfare agencies. 

Protective factors at the community and societal level have been less studied than protective factors at the individual and relationship level. Factors that appear to buffer against the risk of violence include coordination of resources and services among community agencies, access to mental health and substance abuse services, and community support and connectedness.

Resources

Adverse Childhood Experiences
Childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a tremendous impact on future youth violence victimization and perpetration. This CDC web page contains related information and resources.

Connecting the Dots: An Overview of the Links Among Multiple Forms of Violence
A briefing document published by CDC in 2014 to share research on the connections between different forms of violence and describe how these connections affect communities. 

Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: A Technical Package for Policy, Norm, and Programmatic Activities
This technical package (PDF, 52 pages) from the CDC includes a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help prevent child abuse and neglect. Communities and states can use this resource as they prioritize child abuse and neglect prevention activities.

Protective Factors Against Delinquency
A literature review funded by OJJDP, published in 2015.

Risk Factors for Delinquency
A literature review funded by OJJDP, published in 2015.

Youth Violence: Risk and Protective Factors
A CDC web page that lists some of the known risk and protective factors for youth violence.