A comprehensive theory of dynamic risk and protective factors

Dynamic risk factors and constructing explanations of offending: The Risk-Causality Method

“…The fourth approach to the reconceptualization of DRF rests upon the concept of agency, the capacity for and process of goal-directed behavior. Recent theoretical papers attempting to link DRF with offending have highlighted the importance of agency and the associated view of offending as goal-directed behavior (Heffernan & Ward, 2015;Heffernan & Ward, 2017;Serin, Chadwick & Lloyd, 2016;Thornton, 2016 Conceptualizing DRF as problems with the capacities underpinning agency can begin to overcome the issue of their composite nature, as aspects of various DRF are dispersed throughout the agency process. To take the example of emotional congruence with children: an individual values and is motivated to achieve intimacy (i.e., relatedness and pleasure) but believes that adults will harm him; he is in a situation where he feels threatened and lacks the necessary skills to regulate these feelings and he is in an environment with vulnerable children; these impairments and situational factors interact to cause an offence.…”

“…In the forensic/correctional context, exemplars could be prototypical offence action sequences, such as carefully planned "grooming" behaviors and the sexual abuse of children. Practices are coordinated sets of actions centered upon certain goals and their associated norms (Ward & Heffernan, 2017 The practices and exemplars approach provides a useful way to identify the relevant norms and social/cultural models which govern human behavior, including norm-violating patterns of behavior (i.e., illegal practices), which rely upon the functioning of agency capacities. It respects the first person perspective in providing unique insight into intentional practices, but also makes room for a third person (i.e., an observer) perspective in the form of norms and social expectations.…”

“…In the third phase of the RCM the goal is to knit the information provided in the earlier two phases together. The various models and relevant contextual features, mental state and behavioral variables are integrated within a model of goal-directed practices, such as the Predictive Agency Model (PAM; Heffernan & Ward, 2017). This step illustrates the role of the causal processes in problematic engagement in normative practices, such as intimacy, sex, coping, and so on.…”

“…The goal of this phase is to provide an understanding of how the putative causal processes contained within each DRF interact with each other and contextual features to produce offending behavior. For illustrative purposes, we will embed our example within the previously developed Predictive Agency Model (PAM, Heffernan & Ward, 2017).…”

Práticas parentais, habilidades sociais e problemas de comportamentos em crianças no jardim de infância: fatores de proteção e de risco

“…Deste modo, fatores de risco dinâmicos estáveis são aqueles que exigem um processo mais longo de intervenção para que sejam modificados, como por exemplo estilos parentais, já os fatores de risco dinâmicos rapidamente mutáveis podem ser modificados mais rapidamente, como conflitos específicos nos relacionamentos próximos (Heffernan & Ward, 2017). Esta distinção tem sido utilizada para compreender o papel do contexto relacionado à probabilidade da emissão de comportamentos disfuncionais (Ward & Beech, 2015).…”