Promotive factors during adolescence: are there changes in impact and prevalence during adolescence and how does this relate to risk factors?

In this study we compared the impact of promotive and risk factors on 18-month recidivism during adolescence. We measured bipolar factors (factors with risk and promotive effects being the ends of the same continuum) for 13,613 American juveniles who had committed a criminal offense. For most of the factors no significant differences were found between the impact of the promotive and risk ends. Interventions aimed at increasing promotive factors may therefore be potentially just as effective as interventions aimed at decreasing risks. The importance of both promotive and risk factors was found to be significantly higher for younger than for older adolescents in almost every domain, which emphasizes the importance of early intervention. Furthermore, age and sex differences were found in the impact and prevalence of promotive and risk factors. The discussion focuses on implications for clinical practice.