Individual Risk and Protective Factors (From Child Delinquents: Development, Intervention, and Service Needs, P 137-164, 2001, Rolf Loeber and David P. Farrington, eds. -- NCJ-207774)

• NCJ Number: 207781
• Author(s): Richard E. Tremblay; David LeMarquand
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 28 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Book (Hardbound)
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

After reviewing which individual risk and protective factors for offending before 13 years old have been identified in prospective longitudinal studies, this chapter identifies the intervention programs that have prevented offending before age 13 based on the targeting of these factors.

Abstract

As used in this chapter, "individual factors," whether linked to risk of or protection from delinquency, refer to factors inherited at conception through transmitted genes, rather than individual characteristics that emerge as a result of environmental factors. The chapter considers three levels of measurement of the factors that represent different levels of the expression of an individual's characteristics. At the first level, genes from biological parents can be measured directly with molecular genetic studies or indirectly with twin, sibling, and adoption studies. At the second level, the chapter considers physiological structures and activities (e.g., nervous system activity, endocrine system activity, and cardiovascular system activity) that are the product of both genetic and environmental factors. At the third level, the authors consider external characteristics (physical, emotional, cognitive, and social) that can be observed by people who interact with the individual; these stem from both physiological activities and environmental factors. Thus, at any one point of measurement, an individual characteristic is the product of numerous factors within and outside of the individual over his/her lifetime. The chapter contains sections on risk and protective factors in the domains social development, emotional development, cognitive development, and physical development. For each of these domains, the chapter considers interventions that can effectively counter risk factors and foster protective factors. The concluding section examines genetic and physiological characteristics that predict child delinquency. Attention is given to genetic studies, autonomic nervous system activity, pubertal maturation and testosterone, and indexes of brain neurotransmitter functioning. 2 tables