American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research最新文献

American Indian (AI) adolescents have the highest suicide death and attempt rates of any U.S. group, yet few interventions have been developed or evaluated for this population. This paper presents the first adaptation of a brief evidence-based intervention for AI adolescents from one reservation who made a suicide attempt. We describe our community-driven approach to intervention development and a small pilot study (n = 13). Preliminary findings indicate reductions in adolescents' negative thinking, depression, and suicidal ideation, and an increase in psychological service utilization. Key innovations include delivery by AI paraprofessionals and potential to strengthen the continuum of care between emergency department and outpatient settings.

Although there is literature concentrating on cross-cultural approaches to academic and community partnerships with Native communities, few address the process and experiences of American Indian women leading federally funded and culturally grounded behavioral health intervention research in Native communities. This paper summarizes relevant literature on community-engaged research with Native communities, examines traditional roles and modern challenges for American Indian women, describes the culturally grounded collaborative process for the authors' behavioral health intervention development with Native communities, and considers emergent themes from our own research experiences navigating competing demands from mainstream and Native communities. It concludes with recommendations for supporting and enhancing resilience.

This study investigated associations between ego strengths (psychosocial development), racial/ethnic identity using Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure-Revised (exploration, commitment) and Multidimensional Measure of Racial Identity (centrality, private regard, public regard) dimensions, and personal adjustment/well-being among 178 North American Indian/First Nations adolescents who resided and attended school on reserves. As predicted, ego strengths related directly with centrality, private regard, and the adjustment measures; the moderation of ego strengths for exploration, commitment, and private regard reflected adverse functioning for those with less than advanced ego strengths. As well, ego strengths mediated associations between centrality and private regard with several measures of personal well-being. Practical and theoretical implications are considered.

Strength-based approaches that explore resilience and health among Native communities are needed. This report highlights the results from a sources of strength inventory reported over a 2-year period by participants (N = 48) from a Montana tribe who attended cultural camps. The authors found the sources of strength scale to be a reliable and valid measure for the population (N = 11 items, α = .945). The community plans to use the results of this study to inform and promote strength-based measures grounded in the resilience of youth, families, and culture.

In 2009, the Great Lakes Native American Research Center for Health (GLNARCH) set out to generate a promotional video that highlights the successes of the program. Ten GLNARCH interns were interviewed and filmed for participation in the promotional video using a documentary production style. During the editing and transcription process, interviewer responses were noted for relevance to theoretical frameworks--specifically, tribal critical race theory, mentoring, and cultural compatibility--which guided GLNARCH program design. Quotations were transcribed to illustrate these themes. Though the interviews were not intended as a formal qualitative analysis, powerful narratives that are relevant to participatory research emerged. The emergence of narratives that align with relevant theoretical frameworks suggests a novel methodology for a culturally responsive, participatory reporting system.

The objective of the present study was to investigate how American Indian/Alaska Natives' (AI/ANs') attitudes and beliefs might influence how they experience and manage diabetes, with particular attention paid to their attitudes about disease causality. An AI/AN sample of 119 participants completed an anonymous survey that examined the impact of judgments of personal responsibility for disease onset, anger, self-blame, social support, and diabetes self-efficacy on diabetes self-care. Our primary model was tested using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that, while many participants considered themselves almost entirely responsible for their disease onset, this judgment did not predict anger. Anger was strongly related to self-blame and social support, while diabetes self-efficacy was strongly related to diabetes self-care. These psychosocial variables accounted for 70% of the variability in self-reported disease management.

In this study, we examined the influence of an Alaska Native (AN) accent and reputation on perceived therapist credibility after controlling for universal-diverse orientation. Participants listened to and rated therapist audio recordings that differed in AN accent (strong, minimal) and reputational cues (expert, recent graduate, student). While credibility ratings of the accent conditions did not differ in the expert and recent graduate scenarios, the graduate student therapist was seen as less attractive and useful when she spoke with a strong accent.