Question

Background: In December 2017, 9-year old Jack and his mother (Harriet) were visiting their extended family in Melbourne. They were shopping in the city on 21 December when a driver drove his car into pedestrians at the corner of Flinders and Elizabeth streets. Jack and his mum witnessed this event (in which 18 people were injured, with an elderly man subsequently dying from his injuries). They were not in harm’s way (with the car travelling away from them and the driver quickly apprehended. However, Jack and his mum had multiple conversations about how they each thought they could have been killed during the attack. Two days later, Jack and his mum returned to their home in Brisbane.

Jack lives in an intact family consisting of his biological parents, Harriet and Peter, and his older sister Natalie. He is in Grade 4 at the local primary school and has lots of friends. He is also close to his parents and his grandparents (who are involved in his care during the week).

Immediately following his return home, Jack experienced nightmares on a few occasions about cars driving towards him. After the first nightmare, Jack’s dad (who has a history of anxiety and depression) encouraged Jack to sleep in the parents’ bedroom on a camp mattress. Despite mum’s suggestion that it is time for Jack to move back to his own bedroom, he is still sleeping in his parents’ room. Jack’s mum and dad have had many arguments about this situation. Peter’s (dad) perspective is that:

Jack is a very sensitive child who (even as a newborn baby) is more easily upset than other children;

Jack has been exposed to a traumatic experience in which he could have been killed;

Loving support (including avoidance of going into Brisbane city) is required to prevent Jack from developing ongoing mental health problems following this exposure; and

He (dad) could not cope if he lost one of his children.

From Harriet’s (mum) perspective:

The experience was upsetting but she and Jack were not hurt and were never likely to have been hurt (as she has discussed with Jack);

Peter (dad) needs to talk about the attack less; and

Jack is a healthy boy who seems to be handling the experience well.

Question: How likely do you think it is that Jack might develop a diagnosable mental health problem following his exposure to the attack in Melbourne? [Note, you are not being asked to identify possible mental health problems]. Identify 8 factors (a mixture of risk and protective factors – does not need to be 4 of each; but rather 8 in total) to justify your answer, and explain why each is either  a risk or a protective factor.

Answer 1

Acoording to the case given, there are sepicific details that need to be attended while discussing the risk and protective factors that can contribute to the devlopment of mental health problems in the individual, and that are:

- the child isn nine years old and is in grade four, which indicates that the truama might have severe effects on his life on the inside rather than outside.

- according to the case he has lot of friends and is close to his family members

- the child's father has a history of anxiety and depression

The above mentioned factors actually provide insight on the risk factors nd protective factors that the child is under the influence of which may lead to develop a mental health condition or may make the child to have a recovery from the traumatic experience.

Protective factors are those which helps individuals to ease down the effects of traumatic experiences and relieve the stress in order to recover from the trauam healthily. Risk factors are those which can push an individuals towards a mental health condition or may aid in development of any such condition.

Some of the risk factors and protective factors which can contribute to the development or prevention of any mental health condition are given below:

1. Relationship with parents and within the family. It is very important for individuals to have a caring environment around them in which they can nurture and have a fully functional mental well being. It is a protective factor which helps individuals to recover better from the any kind of traumatic experience.

2. Social support and the environment outside family. It is also a protective factor which helps individuals to cope from the traumatic experiences faced by the individuals. It matters a lot to the individuals how do they interect in social settings and how much support they have from their peer groups. In the above case the child does have a lot of friends and have support from them.

3. Physical wellbeing. An individual's physical well being holds alot of importance in people's life. If a person is not well and have massive injuries, it can add on to the traumatic expereince and make recovery difficulty. It is also considered as a protective factor.

4. Individuals who have doubt on their peers to protect them from harm are more likely to develop issues related to mental health problems because they do not have sense of trust on thier peer groups or faith in them that they can save them if anything traumatic occurs. It is considered as risk factor.

5. Academic or professional acheivement, it is a kind of protective factor which ensures the self esteem of the people and boosts their confidence which in turn helps people to cope eventually.

6. Parental relationships which helps children to develope healthy coping mechanisms and indulge in releiving stress activities which is in association with their familial support and caregiving. If children dfo nnit have parental harmony or disfunctional relationship with the parents , it can cause negative psychological effects on the children and is a risk factor.

7. Trauma can be embedded in a person's mind and it can really hamper their capacity to recover from the trauma and is a risk factor which increases the chances of individuals to suffer from serious mental health problems and disorders.

8. Physical well being of biological parents , it can be held as rsisk factor as if the parents are not well or suffere from injuries or long term ilneses , it creates a stressful environment for the individuals and may even burden individuals with resposibiities which proves to aid the insecurities of the individuals and may induce traumatic flashbacks.