Systematic reviews of explanatory risk factors for violence, offending, and delinquency

Abstract:

The main aim of this article is to identify systematic reviews of explanatory risk factors for violence, offending, and delinquency. Explanatory risk factors are factors that are clearly measuring an underlying construct that is different from antisocial behavior. Based on searches for articles published between 2000 and 2016, 216 relevant studies were located and screened, and 42 systematic reviews were included in the analysis: 11 concerned with crime or violence, seven with delinquency or youth violence, eight with sex offending, and 16 with dating or intimate partner violence. Twenty systematic reviews included meta-analyses, but few of these reviewed a wide range of risk factors. These meta-analyses show the strength of relationships between risk factors and outcomes. More systematic reviews and meta-analyses of risk factors are needed to advance knowledge. It is highly desirable to have reviews of longitudinal studies, reviews that focus on explanatory risk factors, and reviews that report both overall effect sizes and effect sizes after controlling for other risk factors.