PROTECT-C: Results from a national study on protective factors for antisocial behavior with Portuguese vulnerable children and youth

• In Event: Youth Delinquency: Correlates and Trends

Abstract

The link between socioeconomic vulnerability and the development of antisocial behaviors throughout life is well established. It has become even more prominent in a society that is the target of ever-increasing economic and social crises that place children and youth at greater risk of poor outcomes, such as school failure, substance abuse, and delinquent behaviors. Despite this knowledge, a question remains to be answered: why, despite all the difficulties they face, some children from deprived backgrounds, do not follow an antisocial trajectory? The answer may lie in protective factors that buffer the adverse outcomes associated with earlier risk factors in childhood and adolescence. This ongoing project aims to understand how school (e.g., school engagement, positive school climate) family (e.g., parental practices), and neighborhood features (e.g., collective efficacy) can help mitigate socioeconomic disadvantage's harmful effects on children and youth outcomes. Using a national sample of middle-school, non-referred children aged between 12 and 15 years and attending the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades in TEIP schools, this quantitative study adopts an online self-report survey aimed at the participating children. The key results of this study will be presented and discussed, highlighting its importance in addressing a gap in the protective factors literature and contributing to developing evidence-based and inclusive prevention policies.

Authors

• Margarida A. Santos, CIJ - Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Justice; School of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Porto

• Gilda Santos, CIJ - Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Justice; School of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Porto

• Josefina Castro, CEJEA, Lusíada University, Porto, Portugal

• Carla Sofia Cardoso, Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Crime Justice and Security (CJS) - School of Criminology, Faculty of Law of the University of Porto

• Inês Fonseca, School of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Porto

• Hugo S. Gomes, Human Development and Violence Research Centre (DOVE), Federal University of Pelotas

• Samuel Moreira, CIJ (Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Justice) - School of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Porto, Portugal | CEJEIA (Center for Legal, Economic, International and Environmental Studies) - Lusíada University, Portugal

• Inês Guedes, Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Crime, Justice and Security of the School of Criminology - Faculty of Law of the University of Porto