A Cautionary Tale

Abstract

Efforts to build empirical evidence for the protective effects of Indigenous cultural factors on psychological health have yielded mixed findings. We examine the interplay of previously hypothesized culturally relevant risk (discrimination, historical loss) and protective (spiritual activities) factors among Indigenous people. The sample includes 569 Indigenous adolescents (M age = 17.23, SD = 0.88; 51.0% girls) and 563 Indigenous adult caregivers (M age = 44.66, SD = 9.18; 77.4% women). Our central finding was that indigenous spirituality was associated with poorer psychological outcomes across several domains (depressive symptoms, anger, anxiety, somatization and interpersonal difficulties), but observed effects were attenuated once perceived discrimination and historical losses were added to statistical models. Thus, consideration of relevant stressors drastically changed our conclusions, underscoring the uncertain dynamics through which specific Indigenous cultural factors impact mental health. Researchers should work in collaboration with Indigenous communities to improve measurement and empirical investigation of these complex constructs.

Risk and resilience: a mixed methods investigation of Aboriginal Australian women’s perinatal mental health screening assessments

“…Understanding what supports and enables good Indigenous perinatal mental health offers unique opportunities for individuals, communities and services to mobilise and enhance perinatal wellbeing. Studies identifying the types and impact of protective factors for Indigenous peoples' mental health, [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] including Indigenous perinatal mental health [29,30], are framed by concepts of resiliency. Resiliency is defined as the ability of people to cope in the event of significant adversity or risk [31][32][33] and is understood as a complex interplay between an individual's biology, psychology and social environment.…”

“…Within this interplay, expressions of hope and self-efficacy, alongside perceptions of coping, control and competence, are better predictors of individual resilience than variables such as education, income or employment [31][32][33][34]. Indigenouscentred resiliency literature from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States promotes the concept of a person's health and wellbeing as holistic and optimised when connection to land, culture and family is strong and present [20,24,35].…”

First Nations Community Well-Being Research and Large Data Sets: A Respectful Caution

“…King (2015) emphasized the requirement of focus groups or discussion circles to provide frame of reference for the findings from a study by Ryan, Cooke, Leatherdale, Kirkpatrick, and Wilk (2015) that traditional language use is related to smoking. Walls, Whitbeck, and Armenta (2016) actually carried out the recommendation touted by King (2015) and this paper and demonstrated that the relationships between Aboriginal spirituality and poorer psychological outcomes were reduced once perceived discrimination and historical losses were accounted for statistically. Unfortunately, this small sample of papers represents the minority, and many researchers are still presenting potentially harmful findings regarding Indigenous Peoples by overlooking the importance of context in large data set analysis.…”

Can a Connection to Culture Reduce Mental Illness Symptoms and Risk for Future Violence?

“…This is facilitated through a sense of belonging to a cultural group which provides an individual with emotional support and camaraderie (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Yet, quantitative evidence for the buffering influence of cultural identity on health and problem behaviours is unclear (Walls, Whitbeck, & Armenta, 2016). Yet, quantitative evidence for the buffering influence of cultural identity on health and problem behaviours is unclear (Walls, Whitbeck, & Armenta, 2016).…”

“…Moreover, the sense of purpose engendered through cultural connectedness acts as a coping mechanism, particularly for historically devalued or marginalised groups (Armenta & Hunt, 2009;Branscombe, Schmitt, & Harvey, 1999;Chandler & Lalonde, 1998;Durie, Milroy, & Hunter, 2009). Yet, quantitative evidence for the buffering influence of cultural identity on health and problem behaviours is unclear (Walls, Whitbeck, & Armenta, 2016). There is some evidence that a strong cultural identity protects against mental health problems and racism-induced distress in North American Indigenous populations (Whitbeck, McMorris, Hoyt, Stubben, & Lafromboise, 2002;Wolsko, Lardon, Mohatt, & Orr, 2007;Yoder, Whitbeck, Hoyt, & LaFromboise, 2006).…”