Risk and Protective Factors for Substance Use in High-Risk Populations
There tends to be an increase in prevalence of substance use issues within populations living in urban areas and where poverty levels are high.
Certain risk factors, more common in deprived areas, are particularly associated with substance use problems. Others are known to foster resilience and can protect individuals from poor consequences.
Published in the academic journal Frontiers, a recent study conducted in central Brooklyn assesses the balance of risk and protective factors within a large population of African-American and Hispanic heterosexual adults deemed to be at particular risk of substance use.
35.7% were identified as having a substance use problem.
A number of profiles were created for males and females which took into account both risk and resilience factors and matched this against the probability of developing a substance use disorder.
The results from the study showed that protective factors such as instrumental and emotional support, educational attainment and employment, contributed to determining whether an individual was more likely to fall within a low, moderate or high-risk class for substance abuse.
Individuals who were more likely to have experienced homelessness, clinical depression, incarceration and unemployment reported levels of substance abuse that were much higher when compared with the general population.