Protective factors are conditions or attributes (skills, strengths, resources, supports or
coping
Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social.
Theories of coping
Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...
strategies) in individuals, families, communities or the larger society that help people deal more effectively with
stressful events and mitigate or eliminate
risk
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environm ...
in families and communities.
In the field of
Preventive Medicine
Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...
and Health Psychology, Protective Factors refer to any factor that decreases the chances of a negative health outcome occurring. Conversely, a
Risk factor
In epidemiology, a risk factor or determinant is a variable associated with an increased risk of disease or infection.
Due to a lack of harmonization across disciplines, determinant, in its more widely accepted scientific meaning, is often u ...
will increase the chances of a negative health outcome occurring. Just as statistical correlations and regressions can examine how a range of independent variables impact a dependent variable, we can examine how many Protective and Risk factors contribute to the likelihood of an illness occurring.
Adoption
Protective factors include:
*Adoptive parents having an accurate understanding of their adopted children's pre-adoption medical and behavioral problems
*Assistance of adoption professionals in the home of adopted children
Some risks that adopted children are prone to:
[Howe, David. (1997). Parent-reported problems in 211 adopted children : Some risk and protective factors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(4), 401-411.]
*Self-mutilation
*Delinquency
*Trouble with the law
*Substance abuse
*Thievery
*Early sexuality and promiscuity
See also
*
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population.
It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evi ...
*
Medical statistics
Medical statistics deals with applications of statistics to medicine and the health sciences, including epidemiology, public health, forensic medicine, and clinical research. Medical statistics has been a recognized branch of statistics in the Un ...
*
Risk factor
In epidemiology, a risk factor or determinant is a variable associated with an increased risk of disease or infection.
Due to a lack of harmonization across disciplines, determinant, in its more widely accepted scientific meaning, is often u ...
References
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Epidemiology
Medical statistics
Risk factors