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Results for “Protective Factors”

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PubMed2002

Reproductive health risk and protective factors among youth in Lusaka, Zambia.

PURPOSE: To: (a) identify risk and protective factors for behaviors that expose Zambian youth to risk of HIV infection and, (b) assess whether research findings from the United States concerning protective factors in "high-risk" environments might apply to other settings. METHODS: A community-based sample of 2328 youth ages 10-24 years residing in Lusaka, Zambia was interviewed. Multivariate statistical methods were used to isolate risk and protective factors for selected sexual and contraceptive behaviors. Seven categories of factors were considered: sociodemographic factors, sexual-reproductive health knowledge and perceptions, nonsexual risk behaviors, peer influence, connections with parents and social institutions, and communication with sexual partners. RESULTS: A sizeable number of factors were associated with each outcome. Only two factors, school attendance and knowledge of AIDS, were associated with both lower levels of sexual activity and consistent use of condoms, and only engaging in higher-risk social activities with close friends was a risk factor for both. The effects of the other factors considered varied by outcome and gender. As in prior research, strong influences of peers were observed, but connections with parents and social institutions unexpectedly did not emerge as protective. CONCLUSION: Because of the number and diverse nature of factors influencing adolescent behaviors, it is unlikely that a single intervention will be found to immediately change sexual risk-taking behaviors in Zambia.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Risk and protective factors among youth offenders.

This exploratory study examined the risk and protective factors of youth offenders and their relation to recidivism. The sample consisted of 76 male and female juvenile probationers within a large metropolitan area. Archival records on probationers provided data on prior offenses, personal characteristics, familial conditions, drug use, peer selection, school performance, role models, and activities and hobbies. It was found that protective factors, specifically personal characteristics, familial conditions, and peer selection, differentiated nonrepeat offenders and repeat offenders. The present body of findings supports the adaptive model of resiliency and reinforces the importance of enhancing protective factors in youth offenders as a means of deterring delinquent behavior.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Adolescent sexual aggression: risk and protective factors.

OBJECTIVE: Little research addresses the correlates of sexual aggression in nonclinical populations of adolescents. The purpose of this study was to identify risk and protective factors associated with sexual violence among male and female adolescents. METHODS: We analyzed data on 71,594 students in the 9th and 12th grades responding to the 1992 Minnesota Student Survey, an anonymous, self-report survey examining an array of risk environments, health-compromising behaviors, and protective factors. The responses of students reporting a history of forcing someone into a sexual act were compared with those who reported that they had never forced someone into a sexual act. Separate analyses were conducted for males and females. RESULTS: A history of sexual violence perpetration was reported by 4.8% of male and 1.3% of female adolescents. Using a logistic regression model, sexual aggression was associated with experiencing intrafamilial or extrafamilial sexual abuse, witnessing family violence, frequent use of illegal drugs, anabolic steroid use, daily alcohol use, gang membership, high levels of suicide risk behavior, and excessive time spent "hanging out." Emotional health and connectedness with friends and adults in the community were protective factors for male adolescents against sexually aggressive behavior, and academic achievement was a protective factor for female adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: A history of forcing someone into a sexual act was associated with several risk and protective factors. Efforts to prevent adolescent sexual violence should target individuals at increased risk. Through their psychosocial assessment of young people, health care professionals can play a role in identifying, counseling, and making appropriate referrals for adolescents at risk for sexually aggressive behavior.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Measuring risk and protective factors for substance use, delinquency, and other adolescent problem behaviors. The Communities That Care Youth Survey.

Risk and protective factors predictive of adolescent problem behaviors such as substance abuse and delinquency are promising targets for preventive intervention. Community planners should assess and target risk and protective factors when designing prevention programs. This study describes the development, reliability, and validity of a self-report survey instrument for adolescents ages 11 to 18 that measures an array of risk and protective factors across multiple ecological domains as well as adolescent problem behaviors. The instrument can be used to assess the epidemiology of risk and protection in youth populations and to prioritize specific risk and protective factors in specific populations as targets for preventive intervention.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Immunogenetic risk and protective factors for juvenile dermatomyositis in Caucasians.

OBJECTIVE: To define the relative importance (RI) of class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) alleles and peptide binding motifs as risk or protective factors for juvenile dermatomyositis (DM), and to compare these with HLA associations in adult DM. METHODS: DRB1 and DQA1 typing was performed in 142 Caucasian patients with juvenile DM, and the results were compared with HLA typing data from 193 patients with adult DM and 797 race-matched controls. Random Forests classification and multiple logistic regression were used to assess the RI of the HLA associations. RESULTS: The HLA-DRB1*0301 allele was a primary risk factor (odds ratio [OR] 3.9), while DQA1*0301 (OR 2.8), DQA1*0501 (OR 2.1), and homozygosity for DQA1*0501 (OR 3.2) were additional risk factors for juvenile DM. These risk factors were not present in patients with adult DM without defined autoantibodies. DQA1 alleles *0201 (OR 0.37), *0101 (OR 0.38), and *0102 (OR 0.51) were identified as novel protective factors for juvenile DM, the latter 2 also being protective factors in adult DM. The peptide binding motif DRB1 (9)EYSTS(13) was a risk factor, and DQA1 motifs F(25), S(26), and (45)(V/A)W(R/K)(47) were protective. Random Forests classification analysis revealed that among the identified risk factors for juvenile DM, DRB1*0301 had a higher RI (100%) than DQA1*0301 (RI 57%), DQA1*0501 (RI 42%), or the peptide binding motifs. In a logistic regression model, DRB1*0301 and DQA1*0201 were the strongest risk and protective factors, respectively, for juvenile DM. CONCLUSION: DRB1*0301 is ranked higher in RI than DQA1*0501 as a risk factor for juvenile DM. DQA1*0301 is a newly identified HLA risk factor for juvenile DM, while 3 of the DQA1 alleles studied are newly identified protective factors for juvenile DM.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Resistance of cytolytic lymphocytes to perforin-mediated killing. Murine cytotoxic T lymphocytes and human natural killer cells do not contain functional soluble homologous restriction factor or other specific soluble protective factors.

CTL and NK cells produce a cytolytic pore-forming protein (perforin, cytolysin) localized in their cytoplasmic granules. These cytotoxic cells are resistant to killing mediated by other lymphocytes and by purified perforin. A membrane factor, known as homologous restriction factor (HRF), has been suggested to confer protection to different cell types against both C- and perforin-mediated lysis. The granules of human large granular lymphocytes have been reported to contain, in addition to perforin, a soluble HRF activity that can be eluted from anion-exchange columns at 115 mM NaCl. Here, we report that a soluble HRF activity is absent in the granules or the cytosol of murine CTL and human NK cells. Our data indicate that the inhibition attributed to HRF could be explained by exogenous EDTA added during granule fractionation. EDTA was shown to bind to Mono Q and to elute at 90 to 120 mM NaCl. A second perforin-inhibitory activity was also eluted from such a column. However, it was present in preparations obtained not only from CTL and NK cells, but also from some perforin-susceptible tumor cell lines, indicating that it has nonrestricted distribution and suggesting that it is probably irrelevant to the perforin-protection mechanism. Our results argue against a role for soluble granule HRF or other soluble factors in mediating resistance of cytotoxic lymphocytes against perforin-mediated lysis.

Animals↗

PubMed2025

The mediating role of protective factors in relationship between caregiving components and psychosocial adjustment among young carers: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Higher youth caregiving is associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes in young carers; hence a research priority is to investigate protective factors that mitigate the adverse effects of youth caregiving. This systematic review with meta-analysis examined the relationships among youth caregiving components and young carer psychosocial adjustment and protective factors, as well as the mediating role of the protective factors in the relationship between caregiving components and psychosocial adjustment. METHODS: Three electronic databases were searched until April 2024 and 10,244 unique publications were identified. Following abstract and title screening, 422 publications were subjected to full-text screening and 60 quantitative studies were included in this study. RESULTS: Meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) results revealed positive direct effects of caregiving responsibilities and caregiving experiences on benefit finding (β = .43, 95% CI [.074, .782], p < .05) and emotion regulation (β = .72, 95% CI [.44, 1.00], p < .001), respectively. However, there was neither a significant direct effect of caregiving components on psychosocial adjustment nor a significant indirect effect of caregiving components on psychosocial adjustment through benefit finding or emotion regulation. CONCLUSION: Findings revealed a need for research into how caregiving contextual factors affect relations among youth caregiving, protective factors, and adjustment.

Humans↗

PubMed1999

Genetic risk and protective factors for idiopathic inflammatory myopathy in Koreans and American whites: a tale of two loci.

OBJECTIVE: To better understand genetic contributions to autoimmunity, immunogenetic markers were studied in two racially discrete and geographically isolated populations of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM). METHODS: Clinical characteristics, as well as clinical and autoantibody subsets, were defined in 151 American white patients and 50 Korean patients with IIM. HLA-DRB1 and DQA1 genotyping was performed on patients and racially matched controls by standard molecular techniques. Gm allotypes and phenotypes were determined by the hemagglutination-inhibition method. RESULTS: HLA-DRB1*0301, the linked allele DQA1*0501, and DRB1 alleles sharing the first hypervariable region motif 9EYSTS13 were major genetic risk factors for the development of myositis in whites (corrected P [Pcorr] < 0.0004, odds ratio [OR] 11.2, 4.5, and 3.1, respectively, for each factor versus controls). Although both the white and Korean patients had a similar distribution of clinical characteristics, autoantibody profiles, and clinical groups, no HLA-DRB1 nor DQA1 allele or motif was found to be a risk factor for IIM in the Korean patients. However, DRB1*14 was a protective factor in Korean patients without myositis-specific autoantibodies (Pcorr = 0.004, OR 0.046). In addition, although no Gm phenotype or allotype was identified as a risk factor in whites, Gm 21 was a protective factor for the development of IIM in Koreans (Pcorr = 0.024, OR 0.3). CONCLUSION: Although myositis patients in the US and Korea share similar clinical and serologic features, the immune response genes predisposing to and protecting from myositis in each of these ethnic groups differ at two chromosomal loci. These data suggest that multiple genetic loci should be studied to identify risk and protective factors for some autoimmune diseases in various ethnic populations.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Risk and protective factors for depressive symptomatology among a community sample of adolescents and young adults.

OBJECTIVES: The study explores the risk and protective factors for current depressive symptomatology in a large community sample of 15-to-24-year-olds. METHODS: The study was designed as a cross-sectional household survey, which used telephone recruitment followed by an anonymous self-report postal questionnaire. The final sample included 3,082 adolescents and young adults from Queensland, Australia. RESULTS: The vast majority of measured risk and protective factors were associated with current depressive symptomatology. Key risk factors included high levels of neuroticism, perceived problems with parents, sexual abuse, relationship break-ups, educational failure and sexual identity conflict. A different profile of protective factors was evident for each of these high-risk groups. Of particular note was the importance of well-developed intrapersonal skills as protective for both males and females. The significance of social connectedness as a protective factor for the males overall and across a range of high-risk groups was a central finding. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The implications of these findings in relation to a range of mental health promotion and mental illness prevention and early intervention initiatives are discussed. Supported initiatives include parenting programs that consider the realities of modem families, increasing community awareness of the impact on young people of the breakdown of their intimate relationships, initiatives in educational settings and workplaces to increase tolerance of gay/lesbian and bisexual lifestyles and the enhancement of social connectedness.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

Workplace protection factor measurements on powered air-purifying respirators at a secondary lead smelter: results and discussion.

A study was conducted at a secondary lead smelter to evaluate the workplace performance of the 3M W-344 and Racal AH3 powered air-purifying respirators equipped with helmets and high efficiency filters. The research protocol developed for the study has been described in a companion paper. The results of the study indicate that the mean lead concentrations, measured inside the facepiece of both PAPRs, were significantly less than the OSHA lead exposure limit of 50 micrograms/m3. The means of the workplace protection factor measurements on both PAPRs were significantly less than the PAPR selection guide protection factor classification of 1000. Correlation analysis of preshift quantitative fit factors and corresponding workplace protection factors indicated no linear association between these two measures of performance. This finding suggests that for PAPRs equipped with helmets and high efficiency filters quantitative fit factors as presently determined are not indicative of the workplace protection which the respirators provide. Since the PAPR protection factor classification of 1000 was originally based on quantitative fit factors, the lack of a demonstrated association between quantitative fit factors and workplace protection as found in this study may explain why their performance was significantly less than expected.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

PubMed2005

[Role of protective factors in the development of depression].

The aim of the present work was to study the counterbalancing effect of protective factors on the predisposition factors to depression, and also to identify the protective factors that enable individuals susceptible to depression to successfully integrate into tile society. Preventive factors assisting individuals to face and successfully overcome the stress triggered by various provoking factors (negative events during the last half a year) were also analyzed. 681 college students participated in the research, 465 women and 216 men. Students with any one of the following predisposition factors were included the affected group (n = 232, 161 women and 71 men): positive family anamnesis (medically diagnosed depression of mother, father, grandparents or sibling), loss during the early years (death of parent, separation, divorce during the first ten years of the child). The results of the present study demonstrate that peer support, and acceptance by others--primarily emotional acceptance--may serve as protective factors. It is also demonstrated that certain socialization factors and parental care are also valuable protection against stress. Furthermore, the effects of certain dysfunctional attitudes influencing the evaluation of negative life-events were proven.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1996

The assigned protection factor according to ANSI.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for respiratory protection (ANSI Z88.2 1992) lists assigned protection factors (APFs) for various respirators. The committee that developed the APFs based its decisions on a review of available studies of respirator performance. If workplace studies were available, these formed the basis for the number assigned. If no such studies were available, then laboratory studies, design analogies, and other information were used to decide what value to assign. For half-mask air purifying respirators, four workplace protection factor studies were consulted to arrive at an APF. For loose-fitting facepiece powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs), five workplace studies and two laboratory studies were reviewed. For full-face air purifying, helmet/hooded PAPRs, and most supplied air respirators no workplace studies were available. The APF was based on laboratory studies or decided by analogy to other equipment. For the remaining respirators only single workplace protection factor studies were available, and these were used by the committee to assign an APF. The database available to the ANSI committee was limited. Most of the studies available for review were not published. The committee in a sense was required to perform peer review on the information to use the data. Studies completed after the ANSI committee finished its deliberations, when added to the data used, continue to support the APFs assigned by ANSI.

Equipment Design↗

PubMed1998

[Risks and protective factors in early childhood development: empirical findings].

A common result of many studies of children at risk for developmental disorder is the heterogeneity of individual reactions to adversity. One attempt to explain the differential outcome of children at risk lies in the assumption of protective factors. In a prospective study of 362 infants the significance of pre- and perinatal complications (early biological risks) and of adverse family living circumstances (early psychosocial risks) on child development at 4 1/2 years was examined. Additionally, to study the interplay between risk and protective factors a number of mother-child and family characteristics potentially favourable to early development were assessed. Results indicated that early risk factors made a significant contribution to child development at preschool age. Using multiple risk indices, between 10 and 20% of the variance of the developmental outcome at 4 1/2 years was explained. Significant predictors of later developmental disorders were neonatal seizures and very low birth weight among the biological risks and low educational level of the parents, early parenthood and unwanted pregnancy among the psychosocial risks. The contribution of early protective factors to developmental outcome, however, was only limited. The high overlap with risk factors, the low specific predictive power and the lack of a moderator effect question the theoretical usefulness of a global concept of protective factors. However, when interactions between specific risk and protective factors were studied, there was evidence of a buffer effect of a successful early mother child interaction.

Brain Damage, Chronic↗

PubMed2003

Smoking among American adolescents: a risk and protective factor analysis.

Cigarette smoking remains a substantial threat to the current and future health of America's youth. The purpose of this study was to identify the risk and protective factors for cigarette smoking among US adolescents. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was used, comparing the responses of all non-smokers at Time 1 for their ability to predict the likelihood of smoking at Time 2, one year later. Data was stratified into four gender by grade group cohorts. Cross-cutting risk factors for smoking among all four cohorts were: using alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs; violence involvement; having had sex; having friends who smoke and learning problems. Having a higher grade point average and family connectedness were protective across all cohorts. Other gender and grade group specific risk and protective factors were identified. The estimated probability of initiating smoking decreased by 19.2% to 54.1% both in situations of high and low risk as the number of protective factors present increased. Of the factors that predict or protect against smoking some are influential across all gender and grade group cohorts studied, while others are specific to gender and developmental stage. Prevention efforts that target both the reduction of risk factors and enhancement of protective factors at the individual, family, peer group and community are likely to reduce the likelihood of smoking initiation.

Achievement↗

PubMed2006

Risk and protective factors for suicide in patients with alcoholism.

Alcoholism is associated with a high risk for suicidal behavior. Up to 40% of persons with alcoholism attempt suicide at some time and 7% end their lives by committing suicide. Risk factors include being male, older than 50 years of age, living alone, being unemployed, poor social support, interpersonal losses, continued drinking, consumption of a greater amount of alcohol when drinking, a recent alcohol binge, previous alcohol treatment, a family history of alcoholism, a history of comorbid substance abuse (especially cocaine), a major depressive episode, serious medical illness, suicidal communication, and prior suicidal behavior. Suicidal behavior is especially frequent in patients with comorbid alcoholism and major depression. However, all patients with alcoholism should be evaluated for suicide risk. Understanding of risk and vulnerability to suicidal behavior in alcoholism still outweighs our knowledge of protective factors and resilience. Knowledge of protective factors for suicide may help to prevent and/or predict suicidal behavior. Protective factors for suicide in alcoholism are quite varied and include an individual's biological and behavioral characteristics, as well as attributes of the environment and culture. Protective factors include effective clinical care for psychiatric (including alcoholism and drug abuse) and physical disorders, easy access to a variety of clinical interventions and support for seeking help, restricted access to highly lethal means of suicide, strong connections to family and community support, skills in problem solving and conflict resolution, cultural and religious beliefs that discourage suicide and support self-preservation. Future studies are necessary to determine which interventions may reduce suicidal behavior in alcoholism.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2000

In vitro determination of sunscreen immune protection factors.

The present study was aimed at determining immune protection factors (IPFs) for sunscreens. Human skin explants from donors of phototype II-III were treated, or not, with sunscreens with increasing sun protection factors (SPF 4, 8, 15 and 30), or their respective vehicles. Explants were submitted, or not, to increasing doses of UVB irradiation (312 nm). After an 18-h incubation at 37 degrees C, epidermal cells were recovered through trypsinization and tested in a mixed epidermal cell/T lymphocyte reaction. The UVB dose providing 50% immunosuppression (D50%) was determined graphically. We first demonstrated a large difference in the individual response to UVB, as assessed by the D50% in the absence of any topical treatment (mean 1615+/-839 J/m2 from 14 experiments with values ranging from 500 to 3200 J/m2). For all the tested sunscreens, the D50% values were significantly higher than those obtained without sunscreens or with their respective vehicles (P < 0.01), thus demonstrating their immunoprotective effect. IPFs were determined as the ratio of the D50% in the presence of sunscreen to that with vehicle alone. Although they displayed important individual variations, IPFs ranked according to the sunscreen SPFs.

Coculture Techniques↗

PubMed1994

Multicenter evaluation of sunscreen UVA protectiveness with the protection factor test method.

BACKGROUND: Currently there is no consensus on a test method to determine the protectiveness of sunscreens in the UVA region alone. OBJECTIVE: The protection factor in UVA (PFA) test method was evaluated to determine its ability to detect dose-response, specificity for UVA protection only, and repeatability between laboratories, and to detect whether the protection factors depended on the skin response observed (erythema or tanning). METHODS: Sunscreens containing 0%, 2%, or 5% oxybenzone, or 7% octyl dimethyl para-aminobenzoic acid were tested by the PFA protocol in five laboratories. RESULTS: The test method demonstrated ability to distinguish differences between the protection in the oxybenzone formulations but not between the placebo (0%) and the 7% octyl dimethyl para-aminobenzoic acid formula. The protection factors were independent of the type of skin response. CONCLUSION: These data support the utility and validity of the PFA method for determining the UVA protection provided by sunscreen products.

4-Aminobenzoic Acid↗

PubMed2001

Protective factors associated with American Indian adolescents' safer sexual patterns.

OBJECTIVES: This paper presents findings from a research partnership with rural American Indian communities to identify protective factors associated with their adolescents' health-related behaviors including 1) delay of sexual debut; 2) not having had intercourse in the past 3 months; 3) birth control use among sexually active adolescents in the past 3 months; 4) condom use in the past 3 months. Our goal was to identify salient characteristics of students and their perceptions of family, school, and friends which could be incorporated or supported in future program planning for adolescents. METHODS: A written survey was administered to 484 Indian students in Grades 6-12 from five rural schools. The survey measured several potential protective factors identified by Problem Behavior Theory, along with self-efficacy and cultural interest and knowledge. Logistic regression assessed the relationship of the protective factors and positive sexual behaviors. RESULTS: Factors significantly associated with abstention from intercourse and/or consistent use of birth control included perceived lower health-risk behavior of friends, higher perceived parental support, higher perceived parental knowledge and monitoring of the adolescent's activities and friends, a higher value on scholastic achievement, higher reported academic performance, and higher self-efficacy for safer sexual behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: This research suggests that Indian adolescents have several protective factors indigenous to their communities which are modifiable. Building on the unique cultural heritage of Indian communities, many of these factors may be addressed through community planned prevention programs.

Adolescent↗