Protective Factors for Children:
How Positive Experiences Reduce Childhood Stress
What are Protective Factors?
Protective factors are the relationships, environments, and skills that help children overcome adversity and build resilience. These positive influences reduce the effects of stress and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), supporting healthy emotional, physical, and social development.
For families and households, helping children feel safe, loved, and supported is at the heart of building strong protective factors. Learning positive parenting strategies and gaining a deeper understanding of child development and the parent-child relationship can strengthen family connections. Reaching out to friends, family, trusted loved ones, or community resources can also provide valuable support along the way
For communities, creating opportunities for children to feel connected to their schools, neighborhoods, and local resources, helps strengthen the protective factors that support healthy development and resilience. These connections can grow through everyday acts of service, like volunteering or supporting local organizations, as well as through advocacy for policies and systems that expand access to the services and support every child deserves.
The Five Protective Factors That Strengthen Families
The Strengthening Families framework identifies five protective factors that help prevent child abuse and neglect while supporting healthy child development.
- Parental Resilience – Managing stress, overcoming challenges, and providing safe, nurturing care.
- Social Connections – Building supportive relationships with family, friends, and the community.
- Knowledge of Parenting & Child Development – Understanding children’s developmental needs and using positive parenting practices.
- Concrete Support in Times of Need – Accessing resources such as food, housing, healthcare, childcare, and other essential services.
- Social & Emotional Competence of Children – Helping children develop emotional regulation, communication, empathy, and healthy relationships.
Why do Protective Factors matter?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, protective factors are “individual or environmental characteristics, conditions, or behaviors that reduce the effects of stressful life events.” Many of these stressful life events fall within the list of Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, which research has shown can lead to negative health outcomes later in life.
ACEs include experiences such as abuse, neglect, household violence, parental substance use, or other traumatic events during childhood.
Protective factors help reduce the impact of stressful events by encouraging healthy development. They can help children avoid risky behaviors while building social-emotional skills that support their success throughout childhood and into adulthood.
Discover how your childhood experiences may still be shaping your life today. Take the ACEs Aware Quiz here.
Strengthening Protective Factors at Home and in the Community
The CDC highlights two types of protective factors: those that come from within the individual and family, and those that come from the broader community. Below are examples of protective factors in each category to help you better understand the many ways you can support the children and adolescents in your life.
Individual and Family Protective Factors
Supportive Relationships
- Families who create stable and nurturing relationships, meaning children have a consistent family life where they are safe, taken care of, and supported
- Children who have positive friendships and peer networks
- Children who have caring adults outside the family who serve as mentors/role models
- Families with strong social support networks and positive relationships with the people around them
Safe Home Environment
- Families where caregivers engage in parental monitoring, supervision, and consistent enforcement of rules
- Families where caregivers/adults work through conflicts peacefully
- Families where caregivers help children work through problems
Healthy Development
- Children who do well in school
- Families that encourage the importance of school for children
- Families that engage in fun, positive activities together
Basic Needs and Stability
- Families where caregivers can meet basic needs of food, shelter, and health services for children
- Families where caregivers have steady employment
Caregiver Education and Resources
- Families where caregivers have college degrees or higher
Positive Family Engagement
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- Families that engage in fun, positive activities together
- Families that encourage the importance of school for children
- Families who create safe, stable, and nurturing relationships, meaning children have a consistent family life where they are safe, taken care of, and supported
Community Protective Factors
Economic Stability and Employment Opportunities
- Communities where families have access to economic and financial help
- Communities where adults have work opportunities with family-friendly policies
Healthcare and Mental Health Access
- Communities where families have access to medical care and mental health services
Early Childhood Development and Childcare
- Communities where families have access to nurturing and safe childcare
- Communities where families have access to high-quality preschool
Safe and Stable Housing
- Communities with access to safe, stable housing
Youth Development and After-School Opportunities
- Communities where families have access to safe, engaging after school programs and activities
Community Partnerships and Resources
- Communities with strong partnerships between the community and business, health care, government, and other sectors
Community Connection and Engagement
- Communities where residents feel connected to each other and are involved in the community
Resources to Strengthen Families:
Below are resources that can help strengthen protective factors and support the development of strong, resilient children.
Every child benefits from strong protective factors. Whether through supportive relationships, safe environments, or access to community resources, these positive influences help children build resilience and thrive. Parents, caregivers, educators, and communities all play an important role in creating the stable, nurturing experiences that promote lifelong health and well-being.
