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

Shepherd, Stephane M.

doi:10.1111/ap.12362

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…55,87–89 Indigenous facilitators are more likely to have a shared understanding of a client's culture and life experience, which supports the delivery of a culturally responsive well-being and mental health service. 90 This cultural sensitivity appears to be of particular importance when providing cultural and trauma healing, as seen in the fifth study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Well-being and mental health interventions for Indigenous people in prison: systematic review

2019

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Background Indigenous people are overrepresented in prison populations of colonised justice systems, and Indigenous prisoners in these countries are at a particularly high risk of poor mental health and well-being. There is an acute need to ensure the access of these groups to culturally appropriate, evidence-based interventions. Aims To conduct a systematic review, evaluating quantitative and qualitative evaluations of mental health and well-being interventions designed for Indigenous people in custody. Method A search of relevant peer-reviewed journal articles to August 2019 was conducted. The focus was on colonised countries under a Western model of justice and health, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. The review utilised Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, PsycNET, EBSCO, Proquest Criminal Justice Database and Informit. Results Of the 9283 articles initially found, only three quantitative and two qualitative evaluations of mental health or well-being interventions for Indigenous people in custody were identified. None were randomised controlled trials. Culturally based interventions appeared to have high acceptability and potential for increased recovery from trauma, reduced alcohol-related problems and lower reoffending. However, no studies quantitatively assessed mental health or well-being outcomes. Conclusions As yet there is no high-quality evidence on the impact on mental health and well-being from interventions specifically for Indigenous prisoners, although existing studies suggest programme features that may maximise acceptability and impact. There is a moral, social and practical imperative to build a strong evidence base on this topic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Well-being and mental health interventions for Indigenous people in prison: systematic review

2019

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“…The majority of respondent's reported participating in cultural activities over the past year with little difference found by incarceration status. Some evidence has pointed to the protective influence of cultural involvement/connection for Indigenous people in custody [35,37,38]. However the temporal relationship between cultural participation and imprisonment was unknown for everincarcerated individuals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The variables chosen in the current study reflect demographic information and domains (i.e., education/employment, mental health/disability, substance use and exposure to violence) that have demonstrated associations with offending in prior literature [14,15,34]. Other variables of interest (i.e., participation in cultural activities, trust in institutions, experiences of racial discrimination and community agency) were included based on their unique relevance to Indigenous Australians [35][36][37][38].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Closing the (incarceration) gap: assessing the socio-economic and clinical indicators of indigenous males by lifetime incarceration status

et al. 2020

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Background: Approximately 1 in 5 to 1 in 6 Indigenous Australian males are currently imprisoned or have previously been imprisoned. Recent work has also pointed to a widening socioeconomic gap within the Indigenous population. Given the myriad social, wellbeing and environmental risk factors associated with justice-involvement, it is conceivable that incarceration may contribute to the increasing disparities found within the Indigenous population. This study aimed to explore the presence and extent of an 'incarceration gap' within the Indigenous population and to uncover which social factors characterise the disparity. Methods: The study utilised data from the 2014-5 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS). A number of socioeconomic , environmental and clinical factors were compared by lifetime incarceration status. Chi-square tests were used to examine the association between incarceration status and each of the comparison variables. Results: Disparities were observed within the Indigenous Australian population across a number of important health and socioeconomic markers by incarceration status-the most pronounced being for educational obtainmentyear 10 completion (Never incarcerated 73%, Ever incarcerated 50%), labour force participation (Never incarcerated 56%, Ever incarcerated 26%) and drug/alcohol problems (Never incarcerated 7%, Ever incarcerated 29%). Never-incarcerated Indigenous males yielded aggregate proportions across numerous variables that approximated or matched general Australian population estimates. Conclusions: There appears to be evidence for a substantial 'incarceration gap' within the Indigenous Australian population.

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“…The majority of respondent's reported participating in cultural activities over the past year with little difference found by incarceration status. Some evidence has pointed to the protective influence of cultural involvement/connection for Indigenous people in custody [35,[37][38]. However the temporal relationship between cultural participation and imprisonment was unknown for ever-incarcerated individuals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Closing the (incarceration) gap: Assessing the socio-economic and clinical indicators of Indigenous males by lifetime incarceration status

Shepherd

Spivak

Ashford

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background “Closing the Gap” is an Australian government strategy that was established to address the inequality in health and education outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Although some gains have been realised, progress has been ostensibly slow. One potential obstacle is the large number of Indigenous Australians in prison. 1 in 5 to 1 in 6 Indigenous Australian males are currently imprisoned or have previously been imprisoned. Recent work has also pointed to a widening socio-economic gap within the Indigenous population. Given the myriad social, wellbeing and environmental risk factors associated with justice-involvement, it is conceivable that incarceration may contribute to the increasing disparities found within the Indigenous population. This study aimed to explore the presence and extent of an ‘incarceration gap’ within the Indigenous population and to uncover which social factors characterise the disparity. Methods The study utilised data from the 2014-5 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS). A number of socio-economic, environmental and clinical factors were compared by life-time incarceration status. Chi-square tests were used to examine the association between incarceration status and each of the comparison variables. Results Disparities were observed within the Indigenous Australian population across a number of important health and socio-economic markers by incarceration status - the most pronounced being for educational obtainment, labour force participation and drug/alcohol problems. Never-incarcerated Indigenous males yielded aggregate proportions across numerous variables that approximated or matched general Australian population estimates. Conclusions There appears to be evidence for an ‘incarceration gap’ within the Indigenous Australian population. It is evident that the national ‘closing the gap’ strategy necessitates contending with Indigenous over-incarceration.

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

Cited by 12 publications

References 38 publications

Well-being and mental health interventions for Indigenous people in prison: systematic review

Well-being and mental health interventions for Indigenous people in prison: systematic review

Closing the (incarceration) gap: assessing the socio-economic and clinical indicators of indigenous males by lifetime incarceration status

Closing the (incarceration) gap: Assessing the socio-economic and clinical indicators of Indigenous males by lifetime incarceration status

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