Risk and Protection Factors for Violence Perpetration: An Ecological Approach

Professor Stan Gilmour's comprehensive literature review examines the complex interplay of factors that influence violence perpetration through an ecological framework. This research adopts a multi-layered approach to understanding violence as emerging from interactions across individual, relationship, community, and societal levels.

Key Insights

The review introduces the powerful "combination lock analogy" – violence rarely stems from a single risk factor, but rather from a precise alignment of multiple vulnerabilities. When these factors align in sequence, the metaphorical safe "bursts open", releasing destructive potential. This model helps explain seemingly disproportionate reactions where someone appears to go "from 0-100 in a split second" – they were likely already at a heightened pressure threshold due to accumulated stressors.

Multi-Level Risk Factors

• Individual: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), poor impulse control, substance misuse
• Relationship: Exposure to family violence, association with delinquent peers, poor parent-child attachment
• Community: Neighbourhood disadvantage, community violence exposure, limited service access
• Societal: Income inequality, cultural norms supporting violence, insufficient legal sanctions

Protective Factors That Buffer Against Violence

• Individual: Well-developed empathy, positive self-concept, executive function skills
• Relationship: Secure attachments, parental supervision, positive peer influences
• Community: Strong social cohesion, access to quality services, community connectedness
• Societal: Strong legislative frameworks, reduced poverty/inequality, investment in welfare

The Public Health Approach

The research emphasises shifting from reactive harm identification to proactive risk identification. This preventative approach represents not just a procedural change but a fundamental reorientation of safeguarding philosophy – from waiting for crises to recognising when risk combinations are forming.

Multiagency collaboration is vital in creating integrated early warning systems. When education, health, social care, housing, and criminal justice agencies share their unique perspectives, patterns of risk can emerge that might remain invisible to any single agency.

The 2022 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act's Serious Violence Duty provides legislative support for this collaborative approach, requiring specified authorities to conduct evidence-based strategic needs assessments and develop multi-agency violence prevention strategies.

Implications for Practice

This ecological understanding highlights the importance of comprehensive interventions that address multiple levels simultaneously. The most effective violence prevention strategies will combine individual-focused approaches with relationship, community, and societal-level interventions.

Special attention to neurodiversity and disability within this framework reveals a nuanced picture, challenging stereotypes while acknowledging unique vulnerabilities and support needs.

For the full literature review on Risk and Protection Factors for Violence Perpetration: An Ecological Model, visit www.oxonadvisory.com