Dangerous Children: Assessment and Management of Risk

Workers in the field of child health appear to be presented with increasing numbers of young people who exhibit behaviours that pose a potential or actual risk to the safety of others.

A review of the current literature on the assessment and management of these children and adolescents was conducted.

A history taking check-list has been devised on the basis of what is known about current associations with background and current factors and violent acts directed to others. There is emerging evidence of interventions that may be effective in reducing long-term risks in such youths. However, these are often resource intensive and may be less effective in older children and adolescents.

Faced with the challenge of assessing and managing severely conduct disordered children, child and family mental health teams should develop formalised assessment procedures and protocols for managing risk factors in a multi-agency context.