Amarika's Bio-Psycho-Social Risk Factors

Various risk factors impact the ways in which a child, family, and community processes and understand their exposure to trauma. The presence of secondary adversities is known as risk factors that contribute to the negative outcomes on the individual’s bio-psycho-social spiritual system. Risk Factors can be defined as, “a characteristic at the biological, psychological, family, community, or cultural level that precedes and is associated with a higher likelihood of problem outcomes.” (http://youth.gov/youth-topics/youth-mental-health/risk-and-protective-factors-youth) The risk factors that occurred to Amarika’s bio-psycho-social spiritual system can be better understood through the understanding that, traumatic events often generate secondary …show more content…
Due to Amarika’s age she is unable to take care of herself and is sometimes supervised by her fifteen year old aunt. Other impacting negative factor is the violence in the neighborhood. Marisha’s father was gun downed in the neighborhood many years ago and the impact of violence is still prominent in her family and community. Mrs. Lawrence exemplified distress that created a challenge to adjustment and recovery when she lied to Amarika about the status and location of her mother. Amarika’s lack of adjustment to the separation from her mother has a possibility to result in poor attachment in the future with her mother. Amarika display’s post trauma emotional and behavioral functions when she throws herself on the floor and cries when her grandmother or her mother is out of sight or has left. This response is a concern for a risk factor of separation anxiety and eventually behavioral or emotional problems into adulthood. Amarika’s lack of eating and sleep brings fear of the possibility of an illness, eating disorder, or sleep disorder in the future. Post trauma emotions were also displayed Mrs. Lawerance as she remembered the death of her husband who was also