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This chapter provides definitions of risk factors and protective factors against delinquency and later offending and discusses some key issues arising in risk factor research, particularly regarding the meaning of mediators and moderators and the problem of establishing causes. It explains that risk factors predict an increased probability of later offending while protective factors either predict a decreased probability of later offending or tend to nullify the effects of risk factors in interaction with them. It highlights the importance of identifying the risk factors that have causal effect, using either experimental or quasi-experimental analyses.

While researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and service providers ask increasingly for solutions to the enduring problems of youth violence, key issues have gone unaddressed. For example, questions remain about the disparity in the prevalence of violence for African American adolescents. It is unclear whether risk and protective factors for violent behavior differ for youth of color as compared to White youth, although several theories suggest that African American youth may be socialized differently to the use and outcomes of violence. To the extent that differences in violence and associated variables are understood, researchers and practitioners will be positioned to more fully meet the needs of particularly vulnerable and marginalized groups. The purpose of Chapter 3 is to distill key race differences in violence, as well as the many risk and protective factors found in the literature. Theories that position race in the etiology of violence are reviewed. The chapter examines race and ethnic differences in the prevalence of violence as well as group variation in risk and protective factors for violence.

This chapter presents the developmental stage of infancy and toddlerhood in the context of assessment and intervention. Physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse are discussed separately and the developmental consequences for each are presented. The chapter presents the risk and protective factors, within the ecological framework, that most apply to infancy and toddlerhood. Assessment and intervention strategies for families with children ages 0 to 3 years who have experienced maltreatment are presented.

It has been posited that the juvenile justice system was designed around the needs of boys, who traditionally have constituted the majority juvenile court-involved population. As girls have become a larger and better understood minority in this system, however, scholarship has begun to recognize their specific pathways and needs. Chapter 4 focuses on gender and violent offending, emphasizing the most recent empirical evidence on similarities and differences in boys’ and girls’ violent behavior. The chapter addresses the following questions: What proportion of violent crimes do male and female youth commit? Are boys and girls becoming more or less violent? Why do youth behave violently in the first place, and why do girls seem to be less violent than boys? What can protect boys and girls from committing violent behavior? How do race, ethnicity, and gender impact violence and the juvenile justice system’s response to it? What are the potential young adult outcomes of violence among girls? Finally, what can we do about boys’ and girls’ violence, and what do we still need to learn in order to respond to appropriately?

Violence prevention programs in the United States have paralleled the country’s general approach to preventing adolescent problem behaviors such as delinquency, substance abuse, and school dropout. Historically, programs aimed at preventing youth violence have been developed locally and have seldom been subjected to rigorous evaluation criteria. In recent years, however, schools and communities have placed greater emphasis on implementing tested and effective violence prevention approaches. The growing interest in selecting effective programs has been influenced by well-known incidents of school violence and by a growing recognition of the importance attached to implementing evidence-based practice strategies in schools and communities.This chapter traces the history of childhood and adolescent violence prevention and review the evolution of a public health approach to preventing aggression and violent behaviors. Current approaches to preventing violence in the context of schools, families, and communities are described and discussed.

This chapter discusses physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse, and the developmental consequences for each. It presents the risk and protective factors, within the ecological framework that most apply to adolescence. Assessment and intervention strategies for families with children ages 12 to 18 years who have experienced maltreatment are presented.

The focus of the chapter is on available knowledge regarding the prediction of early adult offending from information available during the early juvenile years. Standardized screening and assessment tools for formulating these predictions are also reviewed. The chapter begins with a discussion of general issues regarding risk prediction and assessment, including dynamic risk factors (need factors) and protective or strength factors. This is followed by a summary of risk factors identified in the theoretical and empirical literatures as known to be associated with criminal activity. Technical issues in the conduct of risk assessments are discussed, followed by reviews of the major established juvenile and adult assessment tools. Two major conclusions emerge from the chapter. First, while we have considerable knowledge of the risk and need factors associated with adolescent offending and offending during the adult years, information about the prediction of the initiation and desistance from criminal activities specifically for the early adult years (roughly 18 to 25) is lacking. Second, while a number of standardized screening and assessment tools demonstrate sound psychometric properties in the prediction of adolescent offending and adult offending, relatively less information is available regarding the ability of the adolescent measures to predict early adult offending. The chapter concludes with a set of recommendations for researchers and practitioners.

This chapter discusses physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse, and the developmental consequences for each. It also presents the risk and protective factors, within an ecological framework that most apply to middle childhood. Assessment and intervention strategies for families with children ages 7 to 11 years who have experienced maltreatment are presented.

This introductory chapter explains the theme of this volume, which is about saving children from a life of crime. This book aims to change national policies to focus on early childhood prevention rather than on locking up offenders. It covers the full range of the most important early crime risk and protective factors and effective early prevention strategies to reduce offending. It outlines a policy strategy that uses this current research knowledge to bring into sharper focus where our national crime fighting priorities ought to be. It proposes prevention efforts targeted on the childhood years.

This chapter describes the Communities That Care (CTC) program using examples from 12 communities implementing CTC as part of an efficacy trial. CTC is a community-based strategy that empowers members of a diverse and broad-based coalition to plan, implement and monitor prevention activities intended to promote positive youth development. CTC implementation involves six structured training workshops provided over 6-12 months and the collection of epidemiologic data including an anonymous, school-wide survey of students. When implemented community-wide, the survey allows coalition members to identify the most elevated risk factors and depressed protective factors experienced by youth. The coalition then selects evidence-based prevention policies and programs that target these factors in the major settings affecting young people: schools, families, community service organizations, and the community itself. Communities monitor program implementation and periodically re-administer the youth survey in order to gauge the effectiveness of their efforts.

This chapter discusses physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse and the developmental consequences for each. It presents the risk and protective factors within the ecological framework that most apply to early childhood. Assessment and intervention strategies for families with children ages 3 to 6 years who have experienced maltreatment are presented.

This chapter reviews evidence documenting a persistent female offender group and their characteristics. Though small, this group has some defining characteristics. Overall, the evidence shows that fewer girls compared to boys follow the early onset, chronic offending pathway. For persistent female offenders, delinquency begins early and is more serious, frequent, and consistent than average female offending. However, the offending trajectories of this group end more abruptly in adulthood compared to those of persistent male offenders. Compared to their male counterparts, chronic female offenders also tend to engage in more nonviolent (particularly drug) offenses. Despite some gendered variation in offending patterns, research indicates that the majority of risk/protective factors are gender invariant. The chapter does, however, highlight those risk factors that are particularly salient for girls (e.g., brain asymmetry, comorbid mental health problems, early interpersonal victimization, and adversarial interpersonal relationships). We then examine how female persisters fare in adulthood, both in general and compared to their male counterparts. Among the most troubling outcomes for this group are violent relationships, early/poor parenting, and higher mortality rates. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the interpersonal and societal costs of chronic female offending and a call for more research and policy attention directed toward this particularly troubled group.

This chapter reviews a range of risk and protective factors relevant to school bullies and victims. Building on the work by David Farrington and others, it stresses the replicated efficacy of bullying prevention studies. It shows that whereas earlier studies have focused on the impact of bullying on externalizing behaviors, studies also document the impact on internalizing problems. It make a case that longitudinal studies should better examine risk and protective factors related to individuals’ careers in school bullying. In addition, it is argued that future intervention studies focusing on bullying should not just see the removal of risk factors as a central management strategy, but that prevention and intervention programs should include the enhancement of protective factors.

Mental health in later life is promoted and protected by a range of factors. Protective personal attributes include positive self-esteem, self-efficacy, resilience and mastery. The positive psychological benefits of taking part in exercise is well established, especially in a group. There is a vast literature on the mental health benefits of social relationships, social networks and social participation. It is the quality rather than the quantity of relationships that is protective; having a confidante is especially important. Membership of an accepting faith community, having a meaningful occupation and a reasonable income are also protective. For people living with dementia important factors are social and family relationships; effective communication; and involvement in decisions. How older people protect their mental health is underexplored. Most older people regard prevention and promotion as conjoined; the two fields intersect. Risks and protective factors can be conceptualised as located in the individual, community and national/societal domains. In order for policy to engage meaningfully with preventing mental ill health in later life, it needs to address risks in all three domains and tackle the social determinants of health inequalities. Many risks to mental health in later life are a product of, and are embedded in, the lifecourse.

This chapter explicates the construct of resilience within historical social contexts to illuminate an evolutionary perspective of contextual stresses and the ways in which they are negotiated and managed over time. Strengths and social supports are used interchangeably with resilience and protective factors. Various risk models are explained. Both risk and resilience are defined. Race and ethnicity for Blacks is viewed as a form of social stigma and a risk factor. The notion of internalized racial self-hatred is rejected. Racial stigma need not be attributed as self-blame. A strengths perspective is defined.

Chapter 3 described theoretically how media violence can be considered a risk factor for aggression. This chapter further explores the risk factor approach, which provides the testable hypothesis that if media violence is a risk factor, it should increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior. It should increase the risk even in the presence of other risk factors and protective factors. Data from three studies of children and adolescents were examined; all three yielded strong evidence that violent video game play increases the risk of aggressive behaviors. The children with the greatest likelihood of physical fights and other aggressive behaviors were those with multiple risk factors and no protective factor. Holding other risk and protective factors equal, violent video game exposure almost doubled the risk of children being involved in physical fights.

In the U.S. the prevalence rate for the diagnosis of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents is nearly 8%, and worldwide rates are 5%. This chapter reviews the evidence basis for the treatment of ADHD. The evidence for treatment of ADHD mainly centers around medication (particularly the psychostimulants) and one type of psychosocial treatment: behavioral therapy. Controversy exists about which should be the first-line intervention. These interventions are also evaluated against how well they address risk factors for the development of ADHD and an afflicted youth's ongoing adjustment. Recommendations for future research are explored, such as establishing whether there are certain, discrete subpopulations of ADHD that warrant particular treatment approaches.