Risk and protective factors

The following risk and protective factors are based on long standing research evidence. The protective interventions have been shown to alleviate some of the predicted negative outcomes for children by building resilience. If the risk factors are present in a family and there are no corresponding protective factors, the evidence tells us that a high percentage of these children will have poor life outcomes:

offending
mental health
repeat abuse
neglect as parents

It is important to have knowledge of the potential risks and the protective factors in a family and also to remember that these are only predictive indicators: we do not fully understand why some children 'escape' the outcomes.