Explanatory risk factors for violence, offending, and delinquency in adolescents

The Social Services in Sweden carry out fieldwork focusing on adolescents. Their task is to, among other things, identify young people at risk for future social problems [1]. A part of this is to identify risk factors and protective factors in order to find corresponding treatments.

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SBU Enquiry Service

Responds to queries received from Swedish healthcare and social service providers, or governmental organisations. Queries have a limited scope and the process is designed to enable a more rapid response, typically within two to three months. Reports are based on systematic reviews, that are identified through structured searches and critically appraised for risk of bias.

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Published: Report no: ut201918 Registration no: SBU 2018/567

Question

What risk factors and protective factors are central for preventative action against externalized and internalized problems in youths between the ages of 12 and 18?

Table with identified studies

Table 1. Systematic reviews with low/medium risk of bias
Included studies Risk and protective factors
Farrington (2016) [2]
42 systematic reviews were included in the analysis: 11 concerned with crime or violence, 7 with delinquency or youth violence, 8 with sex offending, and 16 with dating or intimate partner violence.
20 systematic reviews had metanalyses		 20 Systematic reviews with meta-analyses:

Crime and violence (7)
broken home, child rearing, discipline, socioeconomic status, family size, family stress, home discord, child maltreatment, parent antisocial behaviour, urban housing, parental warmth empathy versus offending, cognitive empathy, affective empathy, early childhood family structure, early childhood adverse family environment, parental incarceration, attachment security, maternal cigarette smoking

Delinquency (4) school/employment, family parental support, authoritative control, physical punishment inconsistent discipline physical or sexual abuse, high IQ, moral judgment
Authors' conclusion:
More systematic reviews and meta-analyses of risk factors are needed to advance knowledge. It is highly desirable to have reviews of longitudinal studies, reviews that focus on explanatory risk factors, and reviews that report both overall effect sizes and effect sizes after controlling for other risk factors. These types of reviews should significantly advance knowledge about possible causal risk factors for violence, offending and delinquency.

References

  1. Socialtjänstlagen. (2001:453).
  2. Farrington DP, Gaffney H, Ttofi MM. Systematic reviews of explanatory risk factors for violence, offending, and delinquency. Aggression and Violent Behavior. 2017;33:24-36.

Literature search

Literature search.pdf

Project group

Therese Åström, Alexandra Snellman, Ann Kristine Jonsson, Sara Fundell and Miriam Entesarian Matsson at SBU.

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