Ethnic discrimination and psychological distress: A study of Sami and non-Sami populations in Norway

Abstract

Sammendrag:The prevalence of psychological distress and its association with ethnic discrimination was examined among 13,703 participants (36 to 79 years of age) in a population-based study of health and living conditions in areas with indigenous Sami, Kven (descendants of Finnish immigrants), and Ethnic Norwegian populations (the SAMINOR study). Sami and Kven males reported greater levels of stress than Ethnic Norwegians. Ethnic discrimination was strongly associated with elevated levels of psychological distress. Results suggest that ethnic discrimination is a major potential risk factor for poor mental health, and may contribute to ethnicity-related differences in mental health between Sami and non-Sami populations.Omsorgsbiblioteket har ikke tilgang til å publisere dette dokumentet i fulltekst. Kanskje ditt lokale bibliotek kan hjelpe deg, eller kanskje du kommer videre med lenken nedenfor.

Childhood violence and mental health among indigenous Sami and non-Sami populations in Norway: a SAMINOR 2 questionnaire study

“…For instance, some Sami subgroups may be less vulnerable to mental health problems due to protective factors at an individual, family and/or community level [28,51]. Our results of a higher prevalence of psychological distress among Sami compared to the non-Sami is different from the results of the SAMINOR 1 study from 2003/2004 [17], in which ethnic differences were found for men only. Both studies are population-based, but the latter study had a higher response rate (60.6%), and hence may represent a more reliable result concerning mental health prevalence estimate.…”

“…Very few population-based studies are available on the prevalence and types of mental health problems among the adult Sami population [50]. Moreover, the results of these studies are ambiguous [12], probably due to differences in problem formulation and study design [12,17]. Further, the lack of differences in mental health problems between Sami and Norwegians, as presented in certain earlier papers [13,17], may be due to overlooked within-group differences in the Sami population.…”

“…Moreover, the results of these studies are ambiguous [12], probably due to differences in problem formulation and study design [12,17]. Further, the lack of differences in mental health problems between Sami and Norwegians, as presented in certain earlier papers [13,17], may be due to overlooked within-group differences in the Sami population. For instance, some Sami subgroups may be less vulnerable to mental health problems due to protective factors at an individual, family and/or community level [28,51].…”

“…Indigenous peoples have been shown to be more prone to various types of mental health problems, such as mental distress, post-traumatic stress, and suicidal ideation and attempts, compared to the majority groups [12–17]. These disparities have often been linked to colonisation,forced assimilation, violence and discrimination[17–19].…”

“…These disparities have often been linked to colonisation,forced assimilation, violence and discrimination[17–19]. …”