Intergenerational communication regarding Indian Residential Schools: Implications for cultural identity, perceived discrimination, and depressive symptoms

Abstract

Two studies assessed the nature of parental communication about the trauma of Indian Residential Schools (IRSs) in relation to the psychological distress of their adult offspring, and whether the link between parental communication and distress was mediated by offsprings’ greater awareness of collective discrimination or sense of pride in cultural identity. In Study 1, an online survey of Indigenous participants from across Canada ( N = 498) demonstrated a curvilinear relation between the extent to which parents talked about their negative IRS experiences and the severity of depressive symptoms among offspring, among whom symptoms were particularly pronounced with more frequent communication. This relation was mediated by greater perceived discrimination. A similar, but inverse, association was found when parental communications conveyed positive construals of their IRS experiences. Study 2 ( N = 134) further demonstrated an association between direct communications from IRS survivors and offspring wellbeing in that, either the absence of, or especially frequent communications were related to more severe depressive symptoms among offspring. However, hearing about parental IRS experiences from someone other than the parent was not related to offsprings’ depressive symptoms. Qualitative analyses indicated that direct communications from parents tended to provide excessive detail, whereas parental silence was associated with speculation and feelings of isolation or resentment among offspring of IRS survivors. Taken together, the results suggest that either insufficient or excessive parental communication about trauma might undermine offspring wellbeing, whereas moderate levels of communication that provide positive meaning and promote cultural pride or diminish perceptions of personal discrimination could be beneficial.

Wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and the United States: A Systematic Review

“…Forty-three [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ] papers came from Canada; ‘Indigenous peoples in Canada’ is used to collectively report on the aspects of wellbeing as reported in the included papers for First Nations, Métis and Inuit [ 59 ].…”

“…Culture was reported as an important aspect of wellbeing for the Indigenous peoples in Canada by 33 papers [ 16 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 45 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 58 ]. Two key aspects of culture emerged as critical to wellbeing—identity as Indigenous peoples and the importance of one’s Indigenous language.…”

“…Identity was reported by 18 papers as important to the wellbeing of the Indigenous peoples in Canada [ 19 , 25 , 26 , 30 , 31 , 36 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 43 , 45 , 48 , 49 , 51 , 53 , 54 , 56 , 58 ]. One’s identity as being Indigenous was fundamentally connected to healing and gave a strong sense of pride in being Indigenous, which improved one’s wellbeing [ 19 , 25 , 30 , 31 , 36 , 39 , 40 , 45 , 49 , 51 , 53 , 54 , 58 ].…”

“…The impact of removal from one’s community and family was reported as negatively influencing some peoples wellbeing. In some papers, it was reported that those adopted or taken into foster care are reconnecting with their cultural identity [ 19 , 38 , 49 , 53 ].…”

Advancing Indigenous Mental Health Research

“…In their recent systematic review of the behavioral and health science literature addressed to the health outcomes of HT for Indigenous populations, Gone and colleagues (2019) identified 11 studies that operationalized HT in terms of ancestors who attended IRSs. With respect to these studies (including Matheson et al.), they cautioned that, owing to the cross-sectional methods employed in this research, “demonstrated associations are open to alternative interpretations about the direction of effects” (p. 26). In the study by Matheson and colleagues, for example, it is not possible to determine whether IRS ancestry caused depressive symptoms among offspring, or rather whether depressed offspring were more likely to recollect or report communication about the IRS experience from their parents.…”