The book provides a working model for social workers to integrate the most up-to-date evidence about challenges of living encountered in their daily practice. Using a multidimensional biopsychosocial-spiritual perspective, the book examines etiology, course and intervention strategies related to 8 challenges of living. The book presents a range of theories of causation and brings together the most recent interdisciplinary research on risk and protective factors in each chapter.

Each chapter is organized according to the features of the working model and includes:

" narrative story (or stories)
" theories of causation
" patterns of occurrence across gender, race/ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, disability
" biological risk and protective factors
" psychological risk and protective factors
" social risk and protective factors
" spiritual risk and protective factors
" integration of biopsychosocial-spiritual dimensions
" ways that people attempt to cope
" social justice issues
" implications for social work policy and practice.