Protective Factors
Decrease in youth violence is also associated with protective factors. Protective factors can reduce or inhibit the development of youth violence. Development of several protective factors can even decrease the harmful effects of risk factors experienced over time. Some protective factors are: school readiness, academic achievement, connections to school community, healthy social skills, ability to problem solve, increased regulation skills, positive and warm parenting, physical environments that are clean and maintained, public spaces with increased visibility and positive interactions, financial security, safe housing, access to social supports and services, economic opportunities, helpful neighbors, and the mindset that violence should not be the norm.10
It makes sense that investments in both increasing/strengthening protective factors along with decreasing/weakening risk factors will benefit all youth. We must strive to positively affect as many factors as possible in order to ameliorate the many exposures to violence experienced by our young people. There are blanket protective factors that will benefit all youth, whether or not they are likely to experience trauma. Developing a proactive approach to prevent further violence exposure is important, but does not negate the need for addressing the damage already done to our students.
In schools, we are somewhat limited to the risk and protective factors we are able to develop. I am choosing to focus on what we are able to build and/or improve upon. Later, students will develop projects that may improve families and neighborhoods as well as themselves, so the wider circle of community protective factors that can be developed will be discussed then.
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