Drug Addiction Prevention 1: What are risk factors and protective factors?

CEBU, Philippines - Studies over the past two decades have tried to determine the origins and pathways of drug abuse and addiction—how the problem starts and how it progresses. Many factors have been identified that help differentiate those more likely to abuse drugs from those less vulnerable to drug abuse. Factors associated with greater potential for drug abuse are called “risk” factors, while those associated with reduced potential for abuse are called “protective” factors. Please note, however, that most individuals at risk for drug abuse do not start using drugs or become addicted. Then, a risk factor for one person may not be for another.

Risk and protective factors can affect children in a developmental risk trajectory, or path. This path captures how risks become evident at different stages of a child’s life. For example, early risks, such as out-of-control aggressive behavior, may be seen in a very young child. If not addressed through positive parental actions, this behavior can lead to additional risks when the child enters school. Aggressive behavior in school can lead to rejection by peers, punishment by teachers, and academic failure. Again, if not addressed through preventive interventions, these risks can lead to the most immediate behaviors that put a child at risk for drug abuse, such as skipping school and associating with peers who abuse drugs. In focusing on the risk path, research-based prevention programs can intervene early in a child’s development to strengthen protective factors and reduce risks long before problem behaviors develop.

The table below provides a framework for characterizing risk and protective factors in five domains, or settings. These domains can then serve as a focus for prevention. As the first two examples suggest, some risk and protective factors are mutually exclusive—the presence of one means the absence of the other. For example, in the Individual domain, early aggressive behavior, a risk factor, indicates the absence of impulse control, a key protective factor. Helping a young child learn to control impulsive behavior is a focus of some prevention programs.

Other risk and protective factors are independent of each other, as demonstrated in the table as examples in the peer, school, and community domains. For example, in the school domain, drugs may be available, even though the school has “antidrug policies.” An intervention may be to strengthen enforcement so that school policies create the intended school environment.

Risk factors for drug abuse represent challenges to an individual’s emotional, social, and academic development. These risk factors can produce different effects, depending on the individual’s personality traits, phase of development, and environment. For instance, many serious risks, such as early aggressive behavior and poor academic achievement, may indicate that a young child is on a negative developmental path headed toward problem behavior. Early intervention, however, can help reduce or reverse these risks and change that child’s developmental path. young children already exhibiting serious risk factors, delaying intervention until adolescence will likely make it more difficult to overcome risks. By adolescence, children’s attitudes and behaviors are well established and not easily changed.

Risk factors can influence drug abuse in several ways. They may be additive: The more risks a child is exposed to, the more likely the child will abuse drugs. Some risk factors are particularly potent, yet may not influence drug abuse unless certain conditions prevail. Having a family history of substance abuse, for example, puts a child at risk for drug abuse. However, in an environment with no drug-abusing peers and strong anti-drug norms, that child is less likely to become a drug abuser. And the presence of many protective factors can lessen the impact of a few risk factors. For example, strong protection—such as parental support and involvement—can reduce the influence of strong risks, such as having substance-abusing peers. important goal of prevention, then, is to change the balance between risk and protective factors so that protective factors outweigh risk factors.

Gender may also determine how an individual responds to risk factors. Research on relationships within the family shows, that adolescent girls respond positively to parental support and discipline, while adolescent boys sometimes respond negatively. Research on early risk behaviors in the school setting shows that aggressive behavior in boys and learning difficulties in girls are the primary causes of poor peer relationships. These poor relationships, in turn, can lead to social rejection, a negative school experience, and problem behaviors including drug abuse. For more information, please feel free to call 032-2315229 or 0322389143.