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Child Risk Factors
- Premature birth,
- Birth anomalies,
- Low birth weight,
- Exposure to toxins in utero
- Temperament: difficult or slow to warm up
- Physical/cognitive/emotional disability, chronic or serious
illness
- Childhood trauma
- Anti-social peer group
- Age
- Child aggression, behavior problems, attention deficits
Parental/Family Risk Factors
- Poverty
- Parental substance abuse
- Parental impulsivity
- Parental low self-esteem
- A lack of social support for the family.
- Parental immaturity
- Parents' unrealistic expectations
- Unmet emotional needs
- The stress of caring for children
- Economic crisis
- Domestic/intimate partner violence
- Lack of parenting knowledge/skills
- Lack of communication skills
- Inaccurate knowledge and expectations about child development
- Difficulty in managing relationships
- Depression, anxiety or other mental health problems
- Personality Factors
- External locus of control
- Low tolerance for frustration
- Feelings of insecurity
- Lack of trust
- Insecure attachment with own parents
- Childhood history of abuse
- Family structure - single parent with lack of support,
high number of children in household
- Social isolation, lack of support
- Separation/divorce, especially high conflict divorce
- High general stress level
- Poor parent-child interaction, negative attitudes and
attributions about child's behavior
Community Risk Factors
- Low socioeconomic status
- Stressful life events
- Social isolation/lack of social support
- Dangerous/violent neighborhood
- Community violence
- Poverty
- Lack of access to medical care, health insurance, adequate
child care, and social services
Societal Risk Factors
- Homelessness
- Exposure to racism/discrimination
- Poor schools
- Exposure to environmental toxins
- Narrow legal definitions of child maltreatment
- Social acceptance of violence (as evidenced by music
lyrics, television, film and video games)
- Political and religious views that value noninterference
in families.
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