At-Risk Families

Risk is considered any factor that leads to a negative consequence. Indeed, there are many factors that place children and families at risk for poor outcomes, such as adverse health conditions, or violence within romantic and parent–child relationships. Such consequences can negatively impact a child’s emotional, cognitive, social, and physical development as he or she transitions into adolescence and adulthood. This entry examines contemporary theory and research on a number of individual, family, and neighborhood stressors that place families at risk for a host of negative outcomes. These stressors include but are not limited to behavioral problems, substance abuse, depression, harsh parenting, life stress, economic distress, and mental illness across the life span. This entry also explores the term resilience, which describes processes or mechanisms ...