Identifying Risk Factors for Violence in Young Patients
Health care professionals need to be able to identify the risk factors for violence among their patients and then provide appropriate treatment and referrals. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, violence-related assessment and screening should focus on the following areas:
- history of mental illness, previous domestic violence, or substance abuse in the parents or other family members;
- family stresses that could lead to violence (eg, unemployment, divorce, or death);
- appropriate supervision and care and support systems (eg, child care arrangements, the family and social network);
- disciplinary attitudes and practices of the parents or caregivers (particularly about corporal punishment and physical/emotional abuse);
- exposure to violence in the home (domestic violence or child abuse), school, or community;
- degree of exposure to media violence;
- access to weapons in their or a neighbor's home, or the community;
- gang involvement or gang exposure in family, school, or neighborhood;
- situations in which a child or adolescent experiences physical assault or sexual victimization from anyone;
- presence of signs of poor self-esteem, or depression; and
- other factors affecting risk, such as poor school performance and physical, emotional, or developmental disabilities.[1]
See Risk Factors for Youth Violence for more information on measuring risk factors for research.
- American Academy of Pediatrics. (1999). The Role of the Pediatrician in Youth Violence Prevention in Clinical Practice and at the Community Level. Pediatrics, 103(1), pp. 173-181.