Safe Rhode Island:  
Violence and Injury Prevention Program

Risk Factors for Suicide, Other Violence, and Unintentional Injuries

Falls

The following are factors that increase an older adult’s risk of falling.

Risk Factors

• Lower body weakness
• Problems with walking and balance
• Taking four or more medications or any psychoactive medications
• Parkinson’s Disease
• History of stroke
• History of Osteoporosis
• Arthritis
• Cognitive impairment
• Visual impairments

*Source: CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
Risk factors can be reduced through the following:

• Increasing lower body strength
• Increasing levels of physical activity
• Improving balance through regular activities such as Tai Chi
• Asking your doctor or pharmacist to review all medicines (both prescription and over-the-counter) to reduce side effects and interactions
• Wearing proper fitting, slip-resistance footwear

To make living areas safer, seniors should:

• Remove tripping hazards such as throw rugs and clutter in walkways;
• Use non-slip mats in the bathtub and on shower floors;
• Have grab bars put in next to the toilet and in the tub or shower;
• Have handrails put in on both sides of stairways;
• Improve lighting throughout the inside and outside of the home

*Source: CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Motor Vehicular Traffic-Related Injury

The following are factors that increase the risk of traffic-related injury.

Risk Factors

• Aggressive driving
• Speeding
• Inexperienced driving
• Drowsy and distracted driving
• Alcohol impaired driving
• Hazardous road conditions
• Not using proper safety restraints / equipment
• Dementia and other physical impairments
• Visual impairments

Risk factors can be reduced through the following:

• Wearing a helmet
• Wearing a safety belt (low across the hips and across the center of the chest).
• Placing children, birth to 1 years of age (up to 20 lbs), in the back seat of the motor vehicle, in a rear facing infant car seat
• Placing children, 1 years of age to 4 years of age (20 lbs to 40 lbs), in the back seat of the motor vehicle, in a forward facing toddler car seat.
• Placing children, 40 lbs to 80 lbs, in a booster seat, in the back seat of the motor vehicle.
• Placing children under the age of 12 in the back seat of the motor vehicle.
• Using a designated driver
• Obeying speed limits and road hazard signs

*Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury

The following are factors that increase the risk of self-inflicted injury.

Risk Factors

• Previous suicide attempt
• Mental disorders--particularly mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder
• Co-occurring mental and alcohol and substance abuse disorders
• Family history of suicide
• Hopelessness
• Impulsive and /or aggressive tendencies
• Barriers to accessing mental health treatment
• Relational, social, work, or financial loss
• Physical illness
• Easy Access to lethal methods, especially guns
• Unwillingness to seek help because of stigma attached to mental and substance abuse disorders and/or suicidal thoughts
• Influence of significant people--family members, celebrities, peers who have died by suicide--both through direct personal contact or inappropriate media representations
• Cultural and religious beliefs--for instance, the belief that suicide is a noble resolution of a personal dilemma
• Local epidemics of suicide that have a contagious influence
• Isolation, a feeling of being cut off from other people

*Source: Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevention Suicide, 1999

Risk factors can be reduced through the following:

• Effective clinical care for mental, physical and substance use disorders
• Easy access to a variety of clinical interventions and support for helpseeking
• Restricted access to highly lethal means of suicide
• Strong connections to family and community support
• Support through ongoing medical and mental health care relationships
• Skills in problem solving, conflict resolution, and nonviolent handling of disputes
• Cultural and religious beliefs that discourage suicide and support self-preservation

*Source: Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 2004

Youth Violence

The following are factors that increase the risk of violence perpetration among youth.

Risk Factors

Individual

• Attention deficits/hyperactivity
• Antisocial beliefs and attitudes
• History of early aggressive behavior
• Involvement with drugs, alcohol, or tobacco
• Early involvement in general offenses
• Low IQ
• Poor behavioral control
• Social cognitive or information-processing deficits

Family

• Authoritarian childrearing attitudes
• Exposure to violence and family conflict
• Harsh, lax, or inconsistent disciplinary practices
• Lack of involvement in the child’s life
• Low emotional attachment to parents or caregivers
• Low parental education and income
• Parental substance abuse and criminality
• Poor family functioning
• Poor monitoring and supervision of children

Peer/School

• Association with delinquent peers
• Involvement in gangs
• Social rejection by peers
• Lack of involvement in conventional activities
• Poor academic performance
• Low commitment to school and school failure

Neighborhood/Community

• Diminished economic opportunity
• High concentrations of poor residents
• High levels of transiency
• High levels of family disruption
• Low community participation
• Socially disorganized neighborhoods

*Source: CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Protective Factors:

To date, protective factors for youth violence have not been studied with the same scientific rigor as risk factors. However, the Search Institute SM has identified a list of 40 assets, which form the building block of healthy youth development. These developmental assets may prevent violence perpetration. The following is a list of internal and external asset categories.

• Support
• Empowerment
• Clear boundaries and high expectations.
• Constructive use of time
• Commitment to learning
• Positive values
• Social competencies
• Positive identity

*Protective factors source: Search Institute, 2004