Protective Factors
The other set of outcome-producing factors in the contributing factor approach are protective ones.
A protective factor is an input capable of steering the group of inputs it combines with away from an unwanted result.
Like risk factors, protective factors interact with other factors in producing an outcome. Just as risk factors do, a protective factor can have a cascading effect over time, only it exerts a positive, not negative, influence.
Protective factors can be based in the family or society-at-large. Those within the family include healthy attachment bonds, effective parenting, and families that are safe, organized, and efficient.
Parent Coach Gloria DeGaetano, M. Ed. believes putting protective measures in place for kids should emphasize these five areas [1]:
1. A Loving Parent-Child Bond: Validation and approachability among family members offsets the need to seek validation from the lure of gaming and screens.
2. An Interior Life: Kids need to reflect, muse and dream within themselves instead of being constantly fed by outside sources.
3. Image Making: Use of imagination is key—one way being to listen to rather than watch stories.
4. Creative Expression: Producing videos, learning an instrument, woodworking or needlework, and participating in dance or other athletics are all methods to create things of quality, instead of having outside parties create things for them.
5. Contribution to Others: Whether it’s completing chores for the good of the family or volunteering in the community, compassionate contributions to others counteract the drop in socially helpful behavior that is often characteristic of problem video gamers.
The social discussion around violent video gaming often does not involve much debate. Instead, it is made up of oversimplified positions couched in partisan overtones. Seldom is there a rigorous analysis of the topic or much light shared on it, and conversation is regularly shut down through the use of tired tropes on both sides.
Wherever a person ‘lands’ on the topic of violent video game play’s real-world impact, employing protective factors can only help a concerning situation.
[1] Source: Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence , by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Gloria DeGaetano.