Some adults may be less able to protect and provide for the needs of children or may pose a greater risk than other adults do. This would include:

• Adults who are misusing alcohol, drugs or other substances
• Adults who are involved in criminal activity; particularly violent criminal activity
• Adults in relationships that involve domestic abuse
• Adults who have significant mental health issues or learning disabilities
• Adults who live in cultures that endorse practices that are harmful to children such as Female Genital Mutilation, forced marriage, where extreme views are endorsed etc
• Adults who were themselves abused as children are statistically more likely to abuse, although we must understand that there is nothing inevitable about this and this would include generational patterns of neglect
• Adults who have previously harmed children in their care