What does it take to raise children who will not - would not - become perpetrators of violence? What does it take to raise children who will not become alienated, cynical, and disengaged? Or, to put it more positively, what does it take to raise kids who are caring, compassionate, and responsible - actively andproductively engaged in the world around them? This is a question of great concern to parents and, in fact, it has been a major focus of research over the past two decades. We are fortunate to have here in Minnesota some nationally-recognized researchers who are answering these most important questions. In particular, three major research initiatives at the University of Minnesota and one at the non-profit Search Institute in Minneapolis have contributed a great deal to understanding what matters most for young people in today's world. In independent interviews with a principal researcher from each of these four initiatives, we heard what they have learned about the major factors that often undermine healthy development (risk factors) And, most important, we heard about the protective factors or assets that can enable children to succeed, even in the face of challenging circumstances. While these researchers have used different methods and have studied children across different ages, ethnic groups, and geographic locations, their findings converge in powerful ways. Whether you're talking about an eight-year-old child in Rochester, a teenager on the White Earth Reservation, or a three-year-old toddler in a North Minneapolis housing project, research points to many of the same factors that can ensure these young people a bright future. These findings often bear few surprises; in fact, in many ways they match the wisdom of our elders and lead us back to a time of greater connectedness in our families and neighborhoods. Nonetheless, coming from such different perspectives and focusing on such diverse groups of children and families, this research-based information should at least affirm what we know in our hearts and propel us into action wherever we live or work. Here is what we learned from the University of Minnesota's Byron Egeland, Ann Masten and Michael Resnick, and Search Institute's Peter Benson.

All children have risk factors in their lives, but some are particularly important in explaining youth violence. All four researchers speak to a society that, to a large extent, has let its children down. "The increase in violence can be attributed in part to the collapse of the infrastructure for child development: economic challenges, divorce, a weakening government support network, dissolving community ties, fewer adults around during the day to watch out for children - all of this has provided fertile ground for violence to grow," says Masten. "It's not that we planned it; it's just unfolding. We need to put a new infrastructure in place." While the collapse of the infrastructure puts all children at risk, children in poverty pay a particularly high price. As Egeland notes, "What we know about violence is that there is a clear relationship between poverty and violence." "Wiping out poverty would make the biggest difference for children in this country," Resnick concurs. "When handguns kill 365 people in one American city alone in a year, we don't declare a public health disaster. We wrap young people in layers of attribution and blame. We say they had bad luck, bad behavior, bad genes, bad judgment. Rotten kids. What we don't do is take a broader look at the necessary changes in our social fabric. We don't consider the impact of millions of children looking to the future and seeing nothing; they experience no sense of caring and connection in their lives. They see nothing but bleakness up ahead. And then we wonder why they engage in the self-destructive, greedy, hedonistic, asinine behavior that they do. The structure of opportunity for kids has changed in a big way."

The researchers also agree that children learn violence from the adults around them. As Resnick notes, living in neighborhoods where violence is the norm makes it hard for children to escape being caught up in it. "Role modeling of violence and the increasing lethality of the equipment used by kids are contributing to the climbing trend in violence among youth," he says. Too often that violence begins right in the home. Drawing on his 20-year longitudinal data, Egeland reports, "Harsh physical punishment is highly related to violent and antisocial behavior. Violence is almost guaranteed if you were physically abused. Boys tend to become aggressive and girls become depressed. And of course drug and alcohol use also contribute to increased violence."

While the researchers agree that poverty is a most critical issue, they also call attention to the time crunch that working parents face and the toll that this takes on children. Add to that a lack of affordable, quality child care and you have a recipe for trouble. "I'm concerned about the aggression levels of today's four and five-year olds," Masten notes. "Waiting to intervene won't be as effective as dealing with it while children are ages four, five and six. We need to invest more in child care and change parents' work situations to be more flexible. It's just not working the way it is. Parents of young children are completely exhausted."

In general, these researchers concur that children today are confronted by many risk factors - financial strain, parents with alcohol or drug problems, domestic violence, high mobility, easy access to lethal weapons, and - through it all - too little time with adult caregivers. Speaking from her experience in studying Minneapolis school children, Masten says that she and her colleagues "were astonished at the level of stress experienced by a normal group of kids." This means that it is more important than ever that we try to understand the protective factors that can help children thrive even in the face of adversity.

There are clearly-identified protective factors that help children do well even in high-risk circumstances while recognizing how important it is to admit that we have a serious problem with youth violence - and acknowledging that we must confront poverty and other major risk factors in our society today - these researchers nonetheless urge that we take a positive approach. "We don't want to forsake the risk side, but for too long 98 percent of our energy has gone into reducing risk," Benson says. "Not enough has been done to promote positive, healthy development of children and youth."

According to these four researchers, there is no doubt as to the protective factor that is at the top of all of their lists: caring, supportive adults. Based on his studies of thousands of Minnesota youth, Resnick says, "The most important finding from our research on kids from a wide variety of backgrounds is that they need a strong sense of caring from at least one competent adult."

Similarly, Masten and her colleagues found that "children who experience chronic adversity fare better or recover more successfully when they have a positive relationship with a competent adult." Likewise, Benson's research leads him to make it a top priority to "support the development of adult relationships, role models, caring families, caring schools and neighborhoods. These are things you can't buy with policy and programs."

Benson cites the importance to kids of being known by name to the adults in their neighborhood. "How many kids are named by 20 people? " he asks. "Kids should feel cared about by at least 20 people in their neighborhood." Resnick says parents and other adults can make a big difference to kids by "listening to what they have to say and negotiating the rules of your relationship so expectations are clearly communicated." He notes that his findings converge with those of many other researchers across the country in demonstrating that kids need a "safe place where they can go and know they will be accepted." And he quotes Yuri Bronfenbrenner, a renowned psychologist, who says simply that "all kids need someone who's absolutely crazy about them."

Researchers agree that those relationships should begin from the first day of a child's life. Probably no one understands that better than Egeland, whose longitudinal research illustrates the powerful ways that children's life-long development is influenced by the quality of their attachment to their parents during the first year of life. "The bottom line is that children need to know that they can count on their parents to respond in a sensitive, predictable way to their needs," he says. "Sometimes I think there's too much emphasis on the 'whole village' and not enough on the primary caregiver. My research indicates that that relationship is the overriding factor, the one that has the biggest impact on preparing children to handle later adversity." Egeland's research also highlights what parents need in order to give their children that important sense of security (protective factors for parents, if you will). "Parents need knowledge about how children behave, so that they can have realistic expectations," he says. "They need support for themselves, because you can't give what you don't have. And, often, they need to come to some resolution about the way they were cared for in their own childhood. Especially for parents who were abused, facing the past is critical to moving on to a better future."

(The second report in this series will explore attachment and other relationship issues in more detail.)

Beyond the most important protective function of having adults who are devoted to a child's well-being, the researchers point to several other factors that make a difference. Although they sometimes use different terminology to name these factors, their findings can be summarized as follows:

Prenatal care

Healthy development starts with a healthy baby, and, to a large extent, that is a function of prenatal care. Prenatal care means not only getting good medical care from the early stages of pregnancy, but also self care through good nutrition and avoidance of tobacco, alcohol and other harmful substances. Intelligence shows up as a strong protective factor in some children. While
intelligence is influenced by heredity and early experience, prenatal care also plays a strong role. And the absence of good prenatal care most certainly can compromise a child's intellectual ability and other aspects of development.

Competence

These researchers all seem to say in one way or another that children feel successful by being successful, beginning as soon as they reach the age of accomplishment. Masten's research highlights the importance of being good learners and problem-solvers and having "areas of competence that lead them to feel valued by themselves and our society." Similarly, Resnick cites as an important protective factor the development of "a talent or new skill that leads to competence and confidence." And, with his colleagues at Search Institute, Benson counts both social competencies and specific skill-building activities (e.g., sports or the arts) among the important assets for positive development. "Developmental assets are powerfully connected to the choices kids make, and as developmental assets or protective factors are bolstered, high risk behaviors decline," Benson says. "As you increase the number of families and citizens who remember the importance of investing in children, you'll find more kids who are engaged in clubs, teams and organizations, and you'll encounter more youth who
pay attention to social competencies such as empathy. As each of these increases, the chance for violence decreases. The secret is in helping kids stay centered and focused rather than uncentered and unfocused."

Connectedness to school

All of these researchers put connectedness to school high on their list of protective factors. This means being actively engaged in learning in the classroom, participating in school activities outside the classroom, and generally feeling a sense of belonging in the school community. A child's connectedness to school reflects a combination of factors, including the attitudes and behaviors the child has developed prior to entering school, the parents' commitment to education, and the efforts of educators to identify and build on the child's strengths.

Service to others

The researchers attest that children need to learn that they have something of value to offer to others. In their research and work with school-aged children and teens, Resnick and Benson emphasize the importance of giving kids meaningful opportunities to participate and contribute to their families, neighborhoods, and communities. Children gain much from using a skill to bring pleasure or to help someone. In Resnick's words, "No one enjoys or gets much self-esteem from just being a passive recipient."

Spirituality and connection to a community of faith

These researchers speak of the importance both of a personal spiritual life and a connection to a spiritual community that offers support, hope, and a clear set of values. Benson's research points to involvement in a religious community as a valuable developmental asset, and Masten notes the importance of church support and personal faith in accounting for good outcomes for many of the children in her studies. Resnick says his team's research shows that children need "a well-developed sense of spirituality, whether it be related to a temple, church, mosque or synagogue - or a connection to a creative life force in the universe."

These protective factors are things we all can influence

Researchers know that promoting good outcomes for our children and youth requires a comprehensive, long-term approach. "We know so much about family, community, personal and parenting factors that make a difference," Egeland says. "But people are looking for a quick fix. We can't affect only one of these factors and expect change." Resnick agrees: "Everyone is in favor of the certainty of hands-on, biological interventions such as immunization. But people are resistant to implementing what we know about social interventions that work. This is the great irony of the 1990s. We have two decades of research on what kinds of interventions can make a difference in the lives of at-risk children. Because they carry an up-front price tag and because they require a completely different approach than the ones we're used to, we're scared of them." "As researchers, we share the conviction that we need to transform our culture into one that puts children first," says Benson. "It is our most important national challenge.

Unfortunately, we also see evidence - in policy and resource allocation - that this commitment is just not there." But despite the concern about the lack of national will, Benson echoed the hopefulness of the other researchers: "While it's tempting for people to throw up their hands and ask when someone else is going to do something about the bleak picture for today's children, we're inspired by communities such as Mankato, where thousands of people gathered this winter to discuss what can be done to create more hope and possibility in their community."

The researchers agree that our challenge - our opportunity - is to make sure that every child in our community has the assets or protective factors necessary to ensure healthy development and a positive future. There is work for each of us to do in building up the protective factors or assets that will buffer the children in our families and communities against the risks and challenges they face in today's world.