Youth Violence Risk and Protective factors
Common risk and protective factors
CDC– Risk factors against and protective factors for youth violence
World Health Organization (WHO)– Global risk factors for youth violence
Risk factors that can contribute to the risk that children and adolescents join a gang include:
- Growing up in an area with heavy gang activity
- A history of gang involvement in the family (family members who are current or former gang members)
- A history of violence in the home
- Too little adult supervision
- Unstructured free time, particularly during after-school hours and on the weekends
- A lack of positive roles models and exposure to media (television, movies, music) that glorifies gang violence
- Low self esteem
- Sense of hopelessness about the future because of limited educational or financial opportunity
- Underlying mental-health issues or behavioral disorders, such as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Source- AACAP
Community violence plays a part…
To learn more about community violence, click here.