Protective factors in the development of early child conduct problems.

The present study utilized a resilience model to investigate child, family, and community protective factors in toddlerhood as they relate to low levels of conduct problems at age 5 in a sample of low income children at risk for early disruptive problem behavior. Child, family, and community factors were associated with lower levels of conduct problems at age 5. Child, family, and community protective factors also distinguished between children who remained below and above a clinical threshold for aggressive problems between age 2 and 5. Finally, each domain of protective factors made small but significant unique contributions to lower aggression at age 5. These results emphasize the importance of multivariate analysis of the ecology of development predicting child outcome, and suggest potential areas for intervention with children at high risk for conduct problems.