Risk & Protective Factors

The previous section on the prevalence of opportunity youth highlighted that certain groups of youth and young adults face a greater risk of becoming disconnected from work and school. This section explores why some groups are more vulnerable than others and more likely to become disconnected (risk factors), while also looking at the relationships and opportunities that can increase connection (protective factors).

Understanding the risk and protective factors associated with youth disconnecting from work and school can be helpful when working with opportunity youth. This information can be used to incorporate protective factors into programming or decision-making, while minimizing risk factors as best as possible and where it is appropriate.

Protective Factors

While there is no single factor that can protect an individual from becoming disconnected there are several factors that research suggests can help youth to maintain and strengthen connections.¹ These findings can be used to develop and implement evidence-based approaches for working with opportunity youth. These factors include:

• Opportunities & Training. Youth who have access to more employment and educational opportunities are less likely to become opportunity youth. Additionally, youth who have access to job skills and educational training are more likely to stay connected.
• Environment. Research suggests that youth who live in areas that they perceive as safe and consistent are more likely to stay connected with their communities.
• Support Systems. Youth who have support and engagement from educators, peers, and parents are much less likely to become opportunity youth.
• Internal Factors. Individuals who are highly motivated, have good emotional regulation, and are higher achieving students are less likely to become opportunity youth.² Emerging brain science underscores that these social and emotional mindsets and skills are learned, and can be fostered or hindered in learning and community environments, and by experiences with trauma and stress.

Risk Factors

Risk factors for youth disconnection can vary by environment and developmental stage; however, main risk factors for opportunity youth have been identified through research.³ These include:

• placement in child welfare
• missing numerous school days
• associating with deviant peers
• family trauma and experiences of trauma
• parental unemployment
• not graduating high school/dropping out of school⁴

Strategies for Preventing and Reducing Youth Disconnection

Prevention and reduction approaches used with opportunity youth, or those at risk for becoming opportunity youth, utilize strategies to reduce risk factors and elevate or strengthen protective factors. Prevention strategies should be implemented at multiple environmental levels (e.g., school, family, community) during different developmental stages. Additionally, research has shown that prevention strategies should include:

• strengthening connections within the main areas of young people’s lives (school, family, and community), and
• promoting academic and career engagement among young people.⁵

The most common reduction approach is to use reengagement strategies to reconnect or strengthen youth and young adults’ connection to their school, community, and employment opportunities. Examples of reengagement strategies include:

• engaging in environmental or national service projects,
• workplace readiness training, and
• life skills training.⁶

Lastly, it is crucial to assess for and acknowledge opportunity youth's ability to travel to school and work opportunities. One of the more prominent barriers for opportunity youth is lack of accessible and affordable transportation. Another key barrier that has emerged is access to reliable Internet for school and work opportunities, and accessing services. This prevents many opportunity youth from being able to reliably get to school, workplaces, job training centers, and career and technical education programs.⁹ This barrier should be considered when developing and implementing programming for opportunity youth, including providing direct transportation and/or providing financial resources to cover transportation costs such as smart metro cards, train passes, etc.

References

¹ Burd-Sharps & Lewis, 2017; Mendelson, Mmari, Blum, Catalano, & Brindis, 2018; Lewis, 2019
² Burd-Sharps & Lewis, 2017; Mendelson, Mmari, Blum, Catalano, & Brindis, 2018; Lewis, 2019
³ Mendelson, Mmari, Blum, Catalano, & Brindis, 2018; Lewis, 2019
⁴ Mendelson, Mmari, Blum, Catalano, & Brindis, 2018; Lewis, 2019
⁵ Mendelson, Mmari, Blum, Catalano, & Brindis, 2018
⁶ Mendelson, Mmari, Blum, Catalano, & Brindis, 2018
⁷ Search Institute, 2020a
⁸ Search Institute, 2020b
⁹ Lewis, 2019