What are Risk and Protective Factors?
A risk factor is anything that increases the probability that a person will suffer harm.
A protective factor is something that decreases the potentially harmful effect of a risk factor.
In the context of youth involved or at risk of involvement with the juvenile justice system, risk factors can be considered to be those conditions or variables associated with a higher likelihood of delinquency and/or juvenile justice system contact; protective factors are those conditions that lessen this likelihood.
Types of Protective and Risk Factors
Risk and protective factors for child delinquency have been identified in several domains:
Individual
Family
Peers
School, neighborhood
What are the key dangers of being in a gang? and of Gangs
Did you know in some of the most hardcore gangs new members go through an initiation which can range from fighting other gang members to participating in thefts, gang rapes, drive-by shootings, or even murders?Â
Where there are gangs, the crime rate rises.Â
âWhat are the key dangers of being in a gang? and of Gangs
Did you know in some of the most hardcore gangs new members go through an initiation which can range from fighting other gang members to participating in thefts, gang rapes, drive-by shootings, or even murders?Â
Where there are gangs, the crime rate rises.Â
Cognitive behavioral therapy reduces recidivism in both juveniles and adults.
The therapy assumes that most people can become conscious of their own thoughts and behaviors and then make positive changes to them. A person's thoughts are often the result of experience, and behavior is often influenced and prompted by these thoughts. In addition, thoughts may sometimes become distorted and fail to reflect reality accurately.
Cognitive behavioral therapy has been found to be effective with juvenile and adult offenders; substance abusing and violent offenders; and probationers, prisoners and parolees. It is effective in various criminal justice settings, both in institutions and in the community, and addresses a host of problems associated with criminal behavior. For instance, in most cognitive behavioral therapy programs, offenders improve their social skills, means-ends problem solving, critical reasoning, moral reasoning, cognitive style, self-control, impulse management and self-efficacy.
