A review of protective factors and causal mechanisms that enhance the mental health of Indigenous Circumpolar youth

نویسندگان

  • Joanna Petrasek MacDonald
  • James D. Ford
  • Ashlee Cunsolo Willox
  • Nancy A. Ross
چکیده

OBJECTIVES To review the protective factors and causal mechanisms which promote and enhance Indigenous youth mental health in the Circumpolar North. STUDY DESIGN A systematic literature review of peer-reviewed English-language research was conducted to systematically examine the protective factors and causal mechanisms which promote and enhance Indigenous youth mental health in the Circumpolar North. METHODS This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, with elements of a realist review. From 160 records identified in the initial search of 3 databases, 15 met the inclusion criteria and were retained for full review. Data were extracted using a codebook to organize and synthesize relevant information from the articles. RESULTS More than 40 protective factors at the individual, family, and community levels were identified as enhancing Indigenous youth mental health. These included practicing and holding traditional knowledge and skills, the desire to be useful and to contribute meaningfully to one's community, having positive role models, and believing in one's self. Broadly, protective factors at the family and community levels were identified as positively creating and impacting one's social environment, which interacts with factors at the individual level to enhance resilience. An emphasis on the roles of cultural and land-based activities, history, and language, as well as on the importance of social and family supports, also emerged throughout the literature. More than 40 protective factors at the individual, family, and community levels were identified as enhancing Indigenous youth mental health. These included practicing and holding traditional knowledge and skills, the desire to be useful and to contribute meaningfully to one's community, having positive role models, and believing in one's self. Broadly, protective factors at the family and community levels were identified as positively creating and impacting one's social environment, which interacts with factors at the individual level to enhance resilience. An emphasis on the roles of cultural and land-based activities, history, and language, as well as on the importance of social and family supports, also emerged throughout the literature. CONCLUSIONS Healthy communities and families foster and support youth who are resilient to mental health challenges and able to adapt and cope with multiple stressors, be they social, economic, or environmental. Creating opportunities and environments where youth can successfully navigate challenges and enhance their resilience can in turn contribute to fostering healthy Circumpolar communities. Looking at the role of new social media in the way youth communicate and interact is one way of understanding how to create such opportunities. Youth perspectives of mental health programmes are crucial to developing appropriate mental health support and meaningful engagement of youth can inform locally appropriate and culturally relevant mental health resources, programmes and community resilience strategies.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

A scoping review of Indigenous suicide prevention in circumpolar regions

BACKGROUND Suicide is a serious public health challenge in circumpolar regions, especially among Indigenous youth. Indigenous communities, government agencies and health care providers are making concerted efforts to reduce the burden of suicide and strengthen protective factors for individuals, families and communities. The persistence of suicide has made it clear that more needs to be done. ...

متن کامل

The relationship between internalizing and externalizing symptoms and cultural resilience factors in Indigenous Sami youth from Arctic Norway.

OBJECTIVES To examine whether enculturation factors, like cultural activities, ethnic pride and native language competence, are related to decreased internalizing and externalizing symptoms in Indigenous Sami youth from Arctic Norway. The impact of self-efficacy on the relationship between enculturation factors and mental health problems was also examined. STUDY DESIGN Population-based, cross...

متن کامل

The relationships between religion/spirituality and Mental and Physical Health: A review

Religion and spirituality are usually considered as protective factors against a host of negative health outcomes. Recent surveys have documented several associations between religion/spirituality and physical and mental health outcomes. Most of the evidences on the effects of religion on general health suggest that religion commonly plays a positive role. On the other side, religion and spirit...

متن کامل

Protective and Risk Factors of Mental Health in Iranian Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review Study

Objectives With the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the world, including Iran, the need for its prevention and treatment became a national priority for the countries. Children, as one of the most vulnerable groups, are affected by this pandemic in various dimensions. This study aims to identify and categorize the protective and risk factors of mental health prob...

متن کامل

A Study on the Socio-Cultural Factors Related to Mental Health of the Youth among Shiraz University Students

One of the most important issues in development trend for any country is having high mental health among the youth, so the study of students' mental health as an important group in every country is so necessary. The main aim of this research is the study of mental health among Shiraz University students as a sample group. With selecting Maslow and psychological modernization as theoretical fra...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره 72  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2013