The Role of Individual and Community Level Social and Cultural Connectedness in Modifying the Effect of Childhood Adversity on Anxiety and Depression in American Indian College Students PDF Download

Author: Lauren A. White
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description
Background: While causes of anxiety and depression are multifactorial, chronic and acute stress experiences play an important role. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), are sources of childhood stress for which a dose-response relationship with anxiety and depression symptoms across the lifespan has been well established. American Indian and Alaskan Natives (AIANs) experience significantly more ACEs compared to whites; and depression and anxiety symptoms at similar or higher rates compared to the general U.S. population. AIAN families endure a disproportionately high burden of social, cultural, and economic stressors associated with poor health; largely attributable to a history of attempted genocide, forced assimilation, and resulting historical trauma. Despite this, AIANs have demonstrated resilience and strength in surviving and overcoming adversity, both individually and collectively. An important priority for health research is to identify, describe, and document AIAN resiliency factors and the ways they buffer against adverse biological and psychosocial effects of stressors. This study uses an indigenist stress-coping framework to examine how individual and community level social and cultural connectedness factors protect against symptoms of depressive and anxiety disorders in AIAN college students with a history of childhood adversity. Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of data collected in collaboration with Tribal Colleges and Universities across the US using Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods. Our study data from AIAN college students was drawn from a convenience sample of 14 TCUs (N = 1,143). Descriptive statistics are presented. Bivariate correlations of ACEs, anxiety, depression, and five social and cultural connectedness measures at the individual-level (social support, ethnic identity, participation in Tribal practices, and perception of Tribal community fit) and two at the college community-level (opportunities for student communication and availability of cultural events) are assessed. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine associations of ACEs with anxiety and depression. To evaluate moderation by social and cultural connectedness factors, we added interaction terms containing the ACEs variable and each binary indicator of social and cultural connectedness. Results: In this study sample, 14.7% of respondents reported elevated depression symptoms and 12.3% of respondents reported elevated anxiety. For each unit increase of ACEs, the odds of having depression increased by 19% (OR = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.14-1.24), and the odds of having anxiety increased by 20% (OR= 1.20; 95% CI: 1.16-1.25). Of the seven social and cultural connectedness measures tested, only emotional and instrumental social support factors were significantly associated with mental health outcomes (p

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : African Americans
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309452961
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 583

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Book Description
In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Author: Michael T. Compton
Publisher: American Psychiatric Pub
ISBN: 1585625175
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
The Social Determinants of Mental Health aims to fill the gap that exists in the psychiatric, scholarly, and policy-related literature on the social determinants of mental health: those factors stemming from where we learn, play, live, work, and age that impact our overall mental health and well-being. The editors and an impressive roster of chapter authors from diverse scholarly backgrounds provide detailed information on topics such as discrimination and social exclusion; adverse early life experiences; poor education; unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity; income inequality, poverty, and neighborhood deprivation; food insecurity; poor housing quality and housing instability; adverse features of the built environment; and poor access to mental health care. This thought-provoking book offers many beneficial features for clinicians and public health professionals: Clinical vignettes are included, designed to make the content accessible to readers who are primarily clinicians and also to demonstrate the practical, individual-level applicability of the subject matter for those who typically work at the public health, population, and/or policy level. Policy implications are discussed throughout, designed to make the content accessible to readers who work primarily at the public health or population level and also to demonstrate the policy relevance of the subject matter for those who typically work at the clinical level. All chapters include five to six key points that focus on the most important content, helping to both prepare the reader with a brief overview of the chapter's main points and reinforce the "take-away" messages afterward. In addition to the main body of the book, which focuses on selected individual social determinants of mental health, the volume includes an in-depth overview that summarizes the editors' and their colleagues' conceptualization, as well as a final chapter coauthored by Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States, that serves as a "Call to Action," offering specific actions that can be taken by both clinicians and policymakers to address the social determinants of mental health. The editors have succeeded in the difficult task of balancing the individual/clinical/patient perspective and the population/public health/community point of view, while underscoring the need for both groups to work in a unified way to address the inequities in twenty-first century America. The Social Determinants of Mental Health gives readers the tools to understand and act to improve mental health and reduce risk for mental illnesses for individuals and communities. Students preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) will also benefit from this book, as the MCAT in 2015 will test applicants' knowledge of social determinants of health. The social determinants of mental health are not distinct from the social determinants of physical health, although they deserve special emphasis given the prevalence and burden of poor mental health.

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309388570
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 525

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Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

Author: Michelle C. Sarche
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 0313383049
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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This unique book examines the physical, psychological, social, and environmental factors that support or undermine healthy development in American Indian children, including economics, biology, and public policies. The reasons for mental health issues among American Indian and Alaska Native children have not been well understood by investigators outside of tribal communities. Developing appropriate methodological approaches and evidence-based programs for helping these youths is an urgent priority in developmental science. This work must be done in ways that are cognizant of how the negative consequences of colonization contribute to American Indian and Alaska Native tribal members' underutilization of mental health services, higher therapy dropout rates, and poor response to culturally insensitive treatment programs. This book examines the forces affecting psychological development and mental health in American Indian children today. Experts from leading universities discuss factors such as family conditions, economic status, and academic achievement, as well as political, social, national, and global influences, including racism. Specific attention is paid to topics such as the role of community in youth mental health issues, depression in American Indian parents, substance abuse and alcohol dependency, and the unique socioeconomic characteristics of this ethnic group.

Author: Emmy E. Werner
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Author: Dave Eggers
Publisher: Vintage Canada
ISBN: 0307371379
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 563

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What Is the What is the story of Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee in war-ravaged southern Sudan who flees from his village in the mid-1980s and becomes one of the so-called Lost Boys. Valentino’s travels bring him in contact with enemy soldiers, with liberation rebels, with hyenas and lions, with disease and starvation, and with deadly murahaleen (militias on horseback)–the same sort who currently terrorize Darfur. Eventually Deng is resettled in the United States with almost 4000 other young Sudanese men, and a very different struggle begins. Based closely on true experiences, What Is the What is heartbreaking and arresting, filled with adventure, suspense, tragedy, and, finally, triumph.

Author: Anna Fetter
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Native Americans in the U.S. grapple with ongoing effects of colonization on culture, socioeconomic opportunities, political and spiritual systems, communities and families, and health. Historical trauma or loss is one such health stressor facing Native American communities today (Gone et al., 2019). Informed by prior research and Indigenous understandings of health, the Indigenist Stress-Coping Model (Walters et al., 2011) posits that cultural sources of resilience buffer the impacts of stressors such as historical loss. This study tested theorized pathways of the Indigenist Stress-Coping Model among a national sample of 242 Native American college students. Survey data was analyzed using structural equation modeling to examine the theorized relationships among historical loss, well-being, psychological distress, and cultural buffers of enculturation and ethnic identity. Partial support was found for the Indigenist-Stress Coping Model. Participants reported frequent thoughts of historical loss, which was associated with lower well-being and higher levels of psychological distress. Moreover, ethnic identity moderated the relationship between historical loss and well-being such that those with stronger ethnic identities reported a weaker relationship between historical loss and well-being. Results underscore the importance of culturally specific risk and protective factors in Native American college students' resiliency and inform needed interventions and systemic change in higher education.

Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309169437
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description
Every year, about 30,000 people die by suicide in the U.S., and some 650,000 receive emergency treatment after a suicide attempt. Often, those most at risk are the least able to access professional help. Reducing Suicide provides a blueprint for addressing this tragic and costly problem: how we can build an appropriate infrastructure, conduct needed research, and improve our ability to recognize suicide risk and effectively intervene. Rich in data, the book also strikes an intensely personal chord, featuring compelling quotes about people's experience with suicide. The book explores the factors that raise a person's risk of suicide: psychological and biological factors including substance abuse, the link between childhood trauma and later suicide, and the impact of family life, economic status, religion, and other social and cultural conditions. The authors review the effectiveness of existing interventions, including mental health practitioners' ability to assess suicide risk among patients. They present lessons learned from the Air Force suicide prevention program and other prevention initiatives. And they identify barriers to effective research and treatment. This new volume will be of special interest to policy makers, administrators, researchers, practitioners, and journalists working in the field of mental health.