What is a Risk Factor? And what do they have to do with us?
Risk factors are things that make an individual's drug use more likely. There are a number of things that can contribute to why someone ends up using or abusing drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Here are some examples broken out into different areas:
This information was gathered in part from the: The Communities That Care Youth Survey:
COMMUNITY
INDIVIDUAL / PEER
The availability of drugs
- how easy are they to get?
-how do people get access to them?Alienation and Rebelliousness
Young people who feel they are a not part of society, the community or a peer group, are not bound by rules, do not believe in trying to be successful or responsible, are more likely to use drugs.Community Laws and Norms Favorable Toward Drug Use/Abuse
Examples are there community sponsored events that encourage alcohol use/abuse? Are the legal consequences for use of drugs enough to keep people from using?Friends Who Engage in the Problem Behavior
If they have friends who do it they are more likely to do it too.Transitions and Mobility
Neighborhoods with high rates of residential turnover have been shown to have higher rates of juvenile crime and drug use. Also, children who experience frequent residential moves and stressful life transitions are at higher risk for school failure, delinquency,and drug use.Favorable Attitudes Toward the Problem Behavior
Youth who express positive attitudes toward drug use, including lower perceived risks from using substances, are more likely to use tobacco, drugs or alcohol.Low Neighborhood AttachmentNeighborhoods where youths report low levels of bonding to the neighborhood have higher rates of juvenile crime and drug use.
Community Disorganization
Neighborhoods with high population density and physical deterioration have increased adult and juvenile crime and drug use.Early Initiation of the Problem Behavior
The younger someone “experiments” with substances the more likely they are to develop an addiction. Any tobacco, alcohol or other drug use earlier than 15 is a consistent predictor of later drug abuse/addiction.
Extreme Economic Deprivation
Poverty = greater risk of delinquency, violence, drug use, school failure, and teenage pregnancy.
FAMILY
SCHOOL
Family History of the Problem Behavior
Children born or raised in a family with alcoholism have a greater risk of having an alcohol or drug problem themselves.Academic Failure Beginning in Late Elementary School
Family Management Problems
Such as: unclear expectations for behavior, poor monitoring of behavior, few and inconsistent rewards for positive behavior, and severe or inconsistent punishment for unwanted behavior increase children's risk for drug use, violence, and delinquency.Lack of Commitment to School
Drug use is less common among students who expect to attend college than among those who do not. Liking school, amount of time spent on homework, and youth seeing schoolwork as relevant are also have an effect on a youth's chance of using/abusing drugs.High Family Conflict
Children raised in families high in conflict, whether or not the child is directly involved in the conflict, are at greater risk for both delinquency and drug use.
Favorable Parental Attitudes and Involvement in the Problem Behavior
In families in which parents use illegal drugs, are heavy users of alcohol, engage in criminal behavior or are tolerant of children's use, violence, or illegal behavior, children are more likely to use drugs, or engage in violent or delinquent behavior themselves.
MEASURING RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS FOR SUBSTANCE USE,
DELINQUENCY, AND OTHER ADOLESCENT PROBLEM BEHAVIORS
Writers/Evaluators: MICHAEL W. ARTHUR, J. DAVID HAWKINS
University of Washington JOHN A. POLLARD
RICHARD F. CATALANO Social Development Group, University of Washington
A. J. BAGLIONI JR. The Epsilon Group
EVALUATION REVIEW, Vol. 26 No. 6, December 2002 575-601