I'm not saying he'd end up in hospital if you threw him in any neighborhood. What I mean is, if you change the neighborhood in which he lives but he himself doe

I'm not saying he'd end up in hospital if you threw him in any neighborhood. What I mean is, if you change the neighborhood in which he lives but he himself doesn't change at all, he'll be just in as bad a position relatively to the other kids. Let's say Billy has a GetsInTrouble factor and the neighborhood has a Violence factor. If Billy still has a GetsInTrouble factor of 8/10 but gets into a neighborhood with 1/10, of course he'll be far better off. But he could take matters in his own hands and try to lower his GetsInTrouble factor; taking an assuming posture towards the situation would already be a great first step. Changing himself would be far more effective than trying to change his environment or worse, letting his mother or other intervenants try. edit: By the way, I'm not saying that changing his violent environment is not a worthwhile goal. Just that he shouldn't count on it much. If he doesn't count on it, his situation will be better whether the environment change happens or not. But if he counts on it, he's just denying responsibility again and that won't protect him if he ever relocates or if the environment changes again.