CPP CPP Risk & Protective Factors 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to the risk and protective factor approach, interventions are most effective when they target risk factors that are:
- Rare and unique to one individual
- Modifiable and present across multiple domains (Correct answer)
- Fixed biological traits
- Only found in school settings
Correct answer: Modifiable and present across multiple domains
Effective prevention targets modifiable risk factors that appear across multiple domains (family, peer, school, community) because changing them yields the greatest population-level impact.
Question 2: Which of the following is an example of a peer-domain risk factor for substance abuse?
- Family history of alcohol use disorder
- Academic failure
- Association with drug-using peers (Correct answer)
- Low neighborhood attachment
Correct answer: Association with drug-using peers
Association with drug-using peers is a peer-domain risk factor because it increases access, social norms supporting use, and modeling of drug-using behavior.
Question 3: A prevention specialist conducting a community needs assessment finds high rates of unemployment. This is best categorized as which type of risk factor?
- Individual/peer
- School
- Community/environmental (Correct answer)
- Family
Correct answer: Community/environmental
Unemployment is a community/environmental risk factor because it reflects broader socioeconomic conditions that increase stress and reduce resources across many families.
Question 4: Strong attachment to school is considered a protective factor primarily because it:
- Increases academic grades
- Reduces time spent with peers
- Creates bonding to prosocial norms and adults (Correct answer)
- Eliminates exposure to substances on campus
Correct answer: Creates bonding to prosocial norms and adults
School attachment promotes bonding to prosocial norms and caring adults, which buffers against risk behaviors including substance use.
Question 5: Which term describes the additive negative effect when multiple risk factors occur simultaneously?
- Resilience stacking
- Cumulative risk (Correct answer)
- Protective buffering
- Risk saturation
Correct answer: Cumulative risk
Cumulative risk refers to the compounding negative effect when multiple risk factors co-occur, often producing outcomes far worse than any single risk factor would predict.
Question 6: The Communities That Care (CTC) planning system primarily uses risk and protective factor data to:
- Determine criminal sentencing guidelines
- Select and prioritize evidence-based programs matched to local risk profiles (Correct answer)
- Replace all existing community services
- Train police in substance use enforcement
Correct answer: Select and prioritize evidence-based programs matched to local risk profiles
CTC uses community-level risk and protective factor survey data to identify priority risk factors and then select evidence-based programs specifically matched to address those local priorities.
CPP CPP Risk & Protective Factors 2
According to the risk and protective factor approach, interventions are most effective when they target risk factors that are: