Risk Factors
National public health practitioners and researchers have identified nine major risk factors for violence.19 They are: economics, oppression, family dynamics, guns, media, alcohol and other drugs, incarceration, witnessing acts of violence, and community deterioration. Beyond these nationally recognized risk factors, some locally identified issues include: low literacy rates, high rates of truancy, high population density which leads to overcrowding in schools and neighborhoods, and lack of affordable housing.

Links to detailed information about each risk factor:

1. Alcohol and other drugs
2. Family dynamics
3. Witnessing and experiencing violence
4. Media
5. Economics
6. Guns
7. Incarceration
8. Oppression
9. Literacy
10. Truancy

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