Understanding Protective Factors and the Strengthening Families™ Approach
The Strengthening Families™ approach is a research-informed way of working with families from a strengths-based perspective. Parents and caregivers are recognized as the leaders of their families. When parents and caregivers rely on and cultivate their strengths and have access to opportunities, services and support, their children thrive. The Center for the Study of Social Policy identified five key characteristics that, when robust in families, help to ensure positive outcomes. These five protective factors do not eliminate all challenges a family faces, but they can provide buffers to negative impacts. In some cases parents and caregivers may already have these protective factors in others, they can be cultivated with the support of relatives, friends, service providers and the community.
The five protective factors are:
- Parental resilience – Parents and caregivers can persevere in difficult situations, cope with stress and grow as a result of adversity
- Social connections – Parents and caregivers have nurturing and positive relationships that provide emotional, spiritual and informational support
- Knowledge of parenting and child development – Parents and caregivers have access to accurate and timely information about their children’s development and build skills to support their child’s development
- Concrete support in times of need – Parents and caregivers can identify their needs, have access to services and supports and are willing to ask for help when their family is facing difficulties
- Social and emotional competence of children – Parents and caregivers build nurturing relationships with their children based on positive interactions that support their children’s development of social and emotional skills
(Center for the Study of Social Policy, (n.d.). Core Meanings of the Strengthening Families Protective Factors. Retrieved 5/19/2021 from https://cssp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Core-Meanings-of-the-SF-Protective-Factors-2015.pdf)
Learn More about the Strengthening Families™ Approach
- The Center for the Study of Social Policy’s (CSSP) website section, Approach, includes links to research documents and handouts that dive deeper into the framework.
- The Children’s Trust Fund Alliance offers information, resources and online courses about the protective factors, including links to resources developed by states.
- Explore the Protective Factors that Promote Well-Being section of the Child Welfare Information Gateway, which includes links to resources for each protective factor. Resources related to nurturing and attachment that are sometimes considered a stand-alone protective factor can be found in this section. Nurturing and attachment are important aspects of all five named Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors.
- Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE) explores how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Like the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors, HOPE uses a strengths-based approach and considers how positive childhood experiences can be both protective and promotive.
- Explore learning opportunities about the Strengthening Families Protective Factors offered by PA Strengthening Families under the Learning tab.