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Cultural Connectedness and Its Relation to Mental Wellness for First Nations Youth

DOI:10.1007/s10935-016-0454-3
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Angela Snowshoe
Angela Snowshoe
Angela Snowshoe
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Claire V Crooks at The University of Western Ontario
Claire V Crooks
Paul F. Tremblay at The University of Western Ontario
Paul F. Tremblay
Riley Hinson at The University of Western Ontario
Riley Hinson
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Abstract

We explored the interrelationships among components of cultural connectedness (i.e., identity, traditions, and spirituality) and First Nations youth mental health using a brief version of the original Cultural Connectedness Scale. Participants included 290 First Nations youth (M age = 14.4) who were recruited from both urban and rural school settings in Saskatchewan and Southwestern Ontario. We performed a confirmatory factor analysis of the Cultural Connectedness Scale-Short Version (CCS-S) items to investigate the factor stability of the construct in our sample. We examined the relationships between the CCS-S subscales and self-efficacy, sense of self (present and future), school connectedness, and life satisfaction using hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses to establish the validity of the abbreviated measure. The results revealed that cultural connectedness, as measured by the 10-item CCS-S, had strong associations with the mental health indicators assessed and, in some cases, was associated with First Nations youth mental health above and beyond other social determinants of health. Our results extend findings from previous research on cultural connectedness by elucidating the meaning of its components and demonstrate the importance of culture for positive youth development.
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Cultural Connectedness and Its Relation to Mental
Wellness for First Nations Youth
Angela Snowshoe
1
•Claire V. Crooks
2
•
Paul. F. Tremblay
3
•Riley E. Hinson
3
Published online: 2 November 2016
ÓSpringer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract We explored the interrelationships among components of cultural con-
nectedness (i.e., identity, traditions, and spirituality) and First Nations youth mental
health using a brief version of the original Cultural Connectedness Scale. Partici-
pants included 290 First Nations youth (M
age
=14.4) who were recruited from both
urban and rural school settings in Saskatchewan and Southwestern Ontario. We
performed a confirmatory factor analysis of the Cultural Connectedness Scale-Short
Version (CCS-S) items to investigate the factor stability of the construct in our
sample. We examined the relationships between the CCS-S subscales and self-
efficacy, sense of self (present and future), school connectedness, and life satis-
faction using hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses to establish the validity
of the abbreviated measure. The results revealed that cultural connectedness, as
measured by the 10-item CCS-S, had strong associations with the mental health
indicators assessed and, in some cases, was associated with First Nations youth
mental health above and beyond other social determinants of health. Our results
extend findings from previous research on cultural connectedness by elucidating the
meaning of its components and demonstrate the importance of culture for positive
youth development.
Keywords First Nations Youth Cultural connectedness Mental health
Assessment Resilience
&Angela Snowshoe
Angela.Snowshoe@uregina.ca
1
Department of Education, University of Regina, Education Building, 3737 Wascana Parkway,
Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
2
Department of Education, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
3
Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
123
J Primary Prevent (2017) 38:67–86
DOI 10.1007/s10935-016-0454-3
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Research describes culture as a vibrant guidepost that shapes and helps people make meaning of worldviews and replicates itself as an identifiable community (Wexler & Gone, 2012). Cultural connectedness is an understanding and association with facets of one's culture (Henson et al., 2016;Snowshoe et al., 2017). ...
... Scholars indicate that cultural connectedness combined with guidance from AI Elders might protect AI youths against suicide (Doria et al., 2021). Snowshoe et al. (2017) avow a positive connection between culture and AI youths' mental health. A strong sense of cultural identity is a protective factor for adverse mental health outcomes (Brougham & Haar, 2013;Houkamau & Sibley, 2011;Williams et al., 2018), improved self-esteem, increased healthiness, and lesser frequencies of binge drinking (Gone, 2013;Saewyc et al., 2013;Snowshoe et al., 2017). ...
... Snowshoe et al. (2017) avow a positive connection between culture and AI youths' mental health. A strong sense of cultural identity is a protective factor for adverse mental health outcomes (Brougham & Haar, 2013;Houkamau & Sibley, 2011;Williams et al., 2018), improved self-esteem, increased healthiness, and lesser frequencies of binge drinking (Gone, 2013;Saewyc et al., 2013;Snowshoe et al., 2017). Moreover, scholars reported that AI youths can overcome mental health struggles by developing belongingness to their tribal culture and connecting with tribal spirituality (Pharris et al., 1997). ...
Perspectives of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists on the Influence of School Connectedness on American Indian Youths
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This article presents findings captured during a study with four Non-Indigenous child and adolescent psychiatrists treating American Indian youths at a child and adolescent psychiatry hospital located in a rural northwestern state. The author used a qualitative design to develop a deeper understanding of how the psychiatrists conceptualize the relationships between the components of school connectedness and American Indian youths. The study resulted in categorizing 53 descriptors of protective factors and 31 descriptors of risk factors associated with elements of school connectedness identified as 1) Cultural Connectedness, 2) Community, 3) Caregivers, 4) Teachers, and 5) Peers. The descriptors are illustrated through richly detailed comments from the participants.
... In addition, associations between mental wellness and different dimensions of cultural identity (e.g., centrality, cultural connectedness and belonging, cultural efficacy) have also been highlighted. For example, cultural connectedness, measured through identity, traditions, and spirituality subscales, was related to increased selfefficacy and sense of self for Canadian Indigenous youth (two Inuit participants; Snowshoe et al., 2017). ...
... As described in Table 1, these factors include three measures of perceived social support and within-group cohesion; a set of behaviours and value perceptions related to traditional activities and practices; participation in different activities that represent opportunities to strengthen social ties and to receive social support; and, finally, two dimensions of cultural identity (i.e., centrality and connectedness). Centrality refers to the extent to which individuals feel their native culture as a central or important part of the self (Schwartz et al., 2014); connectedness (Snowshoe et al., 2017) describes perception of connections to Inuit elders, youth, and other aboriginal people, and feeling comfortable with Inuit and non-Inuit. All sociocultural factors were (Richmond et al., 2007) -Positive interactions: "Have someone to have a good time with" -Emotional support: "Have someone to talk if I feel troubled or need emotional support", "Have someone to count on when I need advice", "Have someone to listen when I need to talk" -Love and affection: "Have someone who shows me love and affection" Likert scale (1-All of the time to 5-Never) Continuous score calculated by summing reversed scale (Cronbach α = 0.79). ...
Sociocultural factors in relation to mental health within the Inuit population of Nunavik
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Objective: Built on the Inuit determinants approach of health, this study aimed to identify sociocultural factors associated with mental health among Inuit of Nunavik to guide programs and services. Methods: The data were collected through the Qanuilirpitaa? 2017, a survey characterized by the involvement of several Inuit representatives. Depressive symptoms (10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale, CES-D), lifetime suicide ideation and attempts, and past-year ideation were self-reported mental health indicators. Sociocultural factors represented four thematic domains: social support, community activities, traditional practices, and cultural identity. Analyses tested whether the sociocultural factors were associated with indicators of mental health using weighted multivariate regressions. Results: Among the sociocultural factors considered, family cohesion and weekly hunting/fishing activities were associated with lower depression scores. Community cohesion and lower cultural identity (centrality scale) were associated with a lower likelihood of past-year and lifetime ideation while family cohesion was related to a lower likelihood of lifetime attempts. People with psychological distress (higher CES-D, suicidal ideation or attempts) were more likely to participate in healing and wellness activities. Conclusion: Although limited by their cross-sectional character, these analyses, based on the community component of the Qanuilirpitaa?, suggest that strengthening of family and community cohesion, and support of regular hunting and fishing deserve further attention as potential cumulative preventive avenues for Inuit mental health.
... 95% CI: [.641-.752]; Snowshoe et al., 2017). ...
... The results show that youths' cultural connectedness is significantly impacted by experiencing culturally engrained learning practices. The results are essential because cultural connectedness is believed to improve self-esteem for AI youths (Snowshoe et al., 2017). The youth participants also provided important perspectives about how they contextualize cultural connectedness. ...
The Role that Cultural Connectedness Plays in Fostering Educational Sovereignty for American Indian Youths: A Transformative Mixed Methods Study
Article
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Abstract: In this Indigenous grounded, transformative sequential explanatory study, the author examines the influence an American Indian way of knowing educational paradigm had on cultural connectedness in a sample (n = 41) of American Indian youths attending a public school on a federally recognized Indian reservation. The author uses ethnographic writing to share his cultural journey with American Indian cultural immersion teachers. Participants completed a survey packet including a demographic form and, an adapted cultural connectedness survey. Results indicated that positive aspects of an American Indian way of knowing educational paradigm were associated with increased cultural connectedness (Spirituality, Identity, and Traditions) for American Indian youths. The author also sought to capture youth participants' perspectives to develop a deeper understanding of how they conceptualize cultural connectedness resulting in the identification of eleven culturally specific categories. These findings may help inform a broader development and application of an American Indian way of knowing instructional model that contributes to strengthening cultural identity in American Indian youths through culturally sustaining and revitalizing pedagogies. Keywords: American Indian, Indigenous methodologies, ethnography, cultural connectedness, transformative mixed methods.
... Indigenous peoples' perception of health and wellness is shaped by their worldview and traditional knowledge [43,44]. While the Western concept of health broadly defines health as the state of complete physical, mental, social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease [45], Indigenous peoples understand health in a holistic way [26] that seeks balance between the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of an Indigenous person in reciprocal relationships with their families, communities, the land, the environment, their ancestors, and future generations [46][47][48]. Unfortunately, this holistic concept of health and wellness opposes the individualistic and biomedically focused Western worldview of health, which is a dominant lens commonly used in health research, projects, and programs involving Indigenous communities [46]. ...
... While the Western concept of health broadly defines health as the state of complete physical, mental, social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease [45], Indigenous peoples understand health in a holistic way [26] that seeks balance between the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of an Indigenous person in reciprocal relationships with their families, communities, the land, the environment, their ancestors, and future generations [46][47][48]. Unfortunately, this holistic concept of health and wellness opposes the individualistic and biomedically focused Western worldview of health, which is a dominant lens commonly used in health research, projects, and programs involving Indigenous communities [46]. This practice further perpetuates the legacy of colonization and excludes avenues for Indigenous communities to access holistic healing practices "grounded in their culture" [43,49,50]. ...
Enhancing health and wellness by, for and with Indigenous youth in Canada: a scoping review
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Full-text available
Background Indigenous youth in Canada face profound health inequities which are shaped by the rippling effects of intergenerational trauma, caused by the historical and contemporary colonial policies that reinforce negative stereotypes regarding them. Moreover, wellness promotion strategies for these youth are replete with individualistic Western concepts that excludes avenues for them to access holistic practices grounded in their culture. Our scoping review explored strategies, approaches, and ways health and wellness can be enhanced by, for, and with Indigenous youth in Canada by identifying barriers/roadblocks and facilitators/strengths to enhancing wellness among Indigenous youth in Canada. Methods We applied a systematic approach to searching and critically reviewing peer-reviewed literature using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews [PRISMA-ScR] as a reporting guideline. Our search strategy focused on specific keywords and MeSH terms for three major areas: Indigenous youth, health, and Canada. We used these keywords, to systematically search the following electronic databases published in English between January 01, 2017, to May 22, 2021: Medline [Ovid], PubMed, ERIC, Web of Science, Scopus, and iportal. We also used hand-searching and snowballing methods to identify relevant articles. Data collected were analysed for contents and themes. Results From an initial 1695 articles collated, 20 articles met inclusion criteria for this review. Key facilitators/strengths to enhancing health and wellness by, for, and with Indigenous youth that emerged from our review included: promoting culturally appropriate interventions to engage Indigenous youth; using strength-based approaches; reliance on the wisdom of community Elders; taking responsibility; and providing access to wellness supports. Key barriers/roadblocks included: lack of community support for wellness promotion activities among Indigenous youth; structural/organizational issues within Indigenous communities; discrimination and social exclusion; cultural illiteracy among youth; cultural discordance with mainstream health systems and services; and addictions and risky behaviours. Conclusion This scoping review extracted 20 relevant articles about ways to engage Indigenous youth in health and wellness enhancement. Our findings demonstrate the importance of promoting health by, and with Indigenous youth, by engaging them in activities reflexive of their cultural norms, rather than imposing control measures that are incompatible with their value systems.
... 95% CI: [.641-.752]; Snowshoe et al., 2017). ...
... The results show that youths' cultural connectedness is significantly impacted by experiencing culturally engrained learning practices. The results are essential because cultural connectedness is believed to improve self-esteem for AI youths (Snowshoe et al., 2017). The youth participants also provided important perspectives about how they contextualize cultural connectedness. ...
The Role that Cultural Plays in Fostering Educational Sovereignty for American Indian Youths: A Transformative Mixed Methods Study
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2022
In this Indigenous grounded, transformative sequential explanatory study, the author examines the influence an American Indian way of knowing educational paradigm had on cultural connectedness in a sample (n = 41) of American Indian youths attending a public school on a federally recognized Indian reservation. The author uses ethnographic writing to share his cultural journey with American Indian cultural immersion teachers. Participants completed a survey packet including a demographic form and, an adapted cultural connectedness survey. Results indicated that positive aspects of an American Indian way of knowing educational paradigm were associated with increased cultural connectedness (Spirituality, Identity, and Traditions) for American Indian youths. The author also sought to capture youth participants' perspectives to develop a deeper understanding of how they conceptualize cultural connectedness resulting in the identification of eleven culturally specific categories. These findings may help inform a broader development and application of an American Indian way of knowing instructional model that contributes to strengthening cultural identity in American Indian youths through culturally sustaining and revitalizing pedagogies.
... A small body of research examines common factors that impact PYD for some Indigenous youth. This literature suggests the importance of strong cultural connectedness in promoting mental health and positive development among Indigenous youth [16,17]. Sanders and colleagues [18] found that receipt of PYD support services (e.g., services which enhance contextual and personal youth resources) were equally beneficial in terms of life satisfaction and education involvement for Māori, Pacific Islander, and Pakeha (non-Indigenous) youth, despite baseline group differences in risk and resilience. ...
Young Adult Development Indicators for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous People: A Cross-National Longitudinal Study
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Worldwide, Indigenous youth face ongoing challenges and inequalities. Increasing our understanding of life course patterns in Indigenous youth will assist the design of strategies and interventions that encourage positive development. This study aimed to increase understanding of resilience and positive development in Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth across Australia and the United States of America. The Australian sample comprised 9680 non-Indigenous and 176 Pacific Islander and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The USA sample comprised 2258 non-Indigenous and 220 Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian and Native American/American Indian peoples. Data were used to examine how Indigenous background, volunteering, and community involvement at average age 15 years (Grade 9) predicted five young adult positive development indicators: Year 12 (Grade 12) school completion, tertiary education participation, independent income, paid employment, and intimate relationship formation from age 18 to 28 years. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that while Indigenous youth showed slower increases in positive young adult development over time, when adjusting for socioeconomic disadvantage, there was a reduction in this difference. Moreover, we found that Grade 9 community involvement and volunteering were positively associated with young adult development for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth. Findings indicate the importance of addressing structural inequalities and increasing adolescent opportunities as feasible strategies to improve positive outcomes for young Indigenous adults.
... Furthermore, that the initiatives, which offered numerous cultural activities specific to their culture, community, geography, and language, changed the way the youth felt about themselves, describing that afterwards they felt good with one student quote as saying "I do feel a change like I feel that my spirit is fed like with goodness" [58]. Snowshoe et al. [59] found that cultural connectedness including knowledge and association with identity, traditions and spiritual practices, was a positive contributor to mental wellbeing. ...
Linking Heart Health and Mental Wellbeing: Centering Indigenous Perspectives from across Canada
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Indigenous peoples have thrived since time immemorial across North America; however, over the past three to four generations there has been a marked increase in health disparities amongst Indigenous peoples versus the general population. Heart disease and mental health issues have been well documented and appear to be interrelated within Indigenous peoples across Canada. However, Western medicine has yet to clearly identify the reasons for the increased prevalence of heart disease and mental health issues and their relationship. In this narrative review, we discuss how Indigenous perspectives of health and wholistic wellness may provide greater insight into the connection between heart disease and mental wellbeing within Indigenous peoples and communities across Canada. We argue that colonization (and its institutions, such as the Indian Residential School system) and a failure to include or acknowledge traditional Indigenous health and wellness practices and beliefs within Western medicine have accelerated these health disparities within Indigenous peoples. We summarize some of the many Indigenous cultural perspectives and wholistic approaches to heart health and mental wellbeing. Lastly, we provide recommendations that support and wholistic perspective and Indigenous peoples on their journey of heart health and mental wellbeing.
Collaborative watershed analysis: A ‘groupthink’ assessment of cumulative effects
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Multicultural counseling and psychology evolved as a response to the Eurocentrism prevalent in the Western healing professions and has been used to challenge the Eurocentric, patriarchal, and heteronormative constructs commonly embedded in counseling and psychology. Ironically, some of the practices and paradigms commonly associated with “multiculturalism” reinforce the very hegemonic practices and paradigms that multicultural counseling and psychology approaches were created to correct. In Decolonizing "Multicultural" Counseling through Social Justice, counseling and psychology scholars and practitioners examine this paradox through a social justice lens by questioning and challenging the infrastructure of dominance in society, as well as by challenging ourselves as practitioners, scholars, and activists to rethink our commitments. The authors analyze the ways well-meaning clinicians might marginalize clients and contribute to structural inequities despite multicultural or cross-cultural training, and offer new frameworks and skills to replace the essentializing and stereotyping practices that are widespread in the field. By addressing the power imbalances embedded in key areas of multicultural theory and practice, contributors present innovative methods for revising research paradigms, professional education, and hands-on practice to reflect a commitment to equity and social justice. Together, the chapters in this book model transformative practice in the clinic, the schools, the community, and the discipline. Among the topics covered: • Rethinking racial identity development models. • Queering multicultural competence in counseling. • Developing a liberatory approach to trauma counseling. • Decolonizing psychological practice in the context of poverty. • Utilizing indigenous paradigms in counseling research. • Addressing racism through intersectionality. A mind-opening text for multicultural counseling and psychology courses as well as other foundational courses in counseling and psychology education, Decolonizing "Multicultural" Counseling through Social Justice challenges us to let go of simplistic approaches, however well-intended, and to embrace a more transformative approach to counseling and psychology practice and scholarship.
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On September 14, 1983, the Honorable Gordon Dirks, minister of social services in Saskatchewan, addressed the Peyakowak (Cree, "They Are Alone") Committee in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, stating: "I am today establishing a Ministerial Advisory Council consisting of experienced community individuals and experts in the area of child and family services. I shall be directing this council to hold public meetings and receive public opinion, and to review legislative and policy themes." The Ministerial Advisory Council, headed by Peter Matthews, president of the Saskatoon Society for the Protection of Children, had representatives from communities in Saskatchewan, social workers, and aboriginal peoples. The Conservative provincial government, headed by Premier Grant Devine, had begun the process of reviewing the dated provincial legislation, the Family Services Act (1973) directing the Department of Social Services. The Advisory Council would make recommendations for the new legislation to better reflect the needs of the Saskatchewan's diverse population. Saskatchewan, a primarily rural province in the Prairie region of Canada, had a substantial population of people of First Nations and Métis ancestry and likewise had the highest percentage of Native children in the care of Social Services of all Canadian provinces. Dirks's choice to make his official announcement to the Peyakowak Committee signaled its essential role in advocating a new direction in child and family services. In addition, First Nations and Métis people sought control of child welfare to stem the growing tide of apprehensions of their children and put a stop to children being adopted into the homes of nonaboriginal families. The formation of the Advisory Council was an unsatisfactory response to Peyakowak's demand for a formal public inquiry into the death of an aboriginal toddler in a Saskatchewan foster home. In addition to unsafe foster home conditions, another area of concern for the Advisory Council was the high percentage of Native children who had been removed from their homes, placed in foster homes, and then put up for adoption. In 1981, of the 1,567 children living in foster homes in Saskatchewan, 1,201 were Native, or 76.8 percent. This crisis had many contributing factors, such as a lack of resources for protecting children in their homes and prevention of removal through family assistance, both to be examined by the Advisory Council. Saskatchewan was not alone in publicly reconsidering its approach to providing child and family services to its aboriginal population. Like the Kimelman Inquiry taking place next door in Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario also revised their Child and Family Services legislation in the early 1980s, as Canadian provinces sought a legislative solution to cultural and legal changes that had taken place over the past decades. The 1983 Review of the Family Services Act (1973) and the Advisory Council meetings in Saskatchewan should be viewed against the backdrop of political changes taking place in North American society. Beginning with decolonization movements in both Canada and the United States, control over the provision of child and family services to indigenous children occupied a central position in discussions of self-determination. Control over child welfare provides a common language to what are essentially competing ideas of kinship and child rearing in indigenous and nonindigenous societies. To explore how activists framed aboriginal child welfare in the early part of the 1980s in Saskatchewan, I will draw together four historically significant events that privileged certain explanations for aboriginal overrepresentation while silencing others. First, I address the 1978 passing of the US Indian Child Welfare Act, which gave tribal courts jurisdiction over the placement of children. This legislation provided Canadian legal scholars and First Nations leadership with a framework for articulating a position on child welfare jurisdiction. Second, I examine the lobbying of the national and Saskatchewan Native women's movement, which sought an end to the gender discrimination in the Indian Act leading to the involuntary loss of Indian status and community membership. Third, there is the movement for self-government among indigenous peoples that resulted in the inclusion of protected rights in the repatriated Constitution of 1982, creating what one scholar has called an "uneasy and undefined relationship with the colonizing state." Finally, I discuss the influence of the local group named the Peyakowak...
Development of a Cultural Connectedness Scale for First Nations Youth.
Article
Despite a growing recognition of cultural connectedness as an important protective factor for First Nations (FN) peoples' health, there remains a clear need for a conceptual model that organizes, explains, and leads to an understanding of the resiliency mechanisms underlying this concept for FN youth. The current study involved the development of the Cultural Connectedness Scale (CCS) to identify a new scale of cultural connectedness. A sample of 319 FN, Métis, and Inuit youths enrolled in Grades 8-12 from reserve and urban areas in Saskatchewan and Southwestern Ontario, Canada, participated in the current study. A combination of rational expert judgments and empirical data were used to refine the pool of items to a set that is a representative sample of the indicators of the cultural connectedness construct. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to examine the latent structure of the cultural connectedness items, and a confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the fit of a more parsimonious version of the final EFA model. The resulting 29-item inventory consisted of 3 dimensions: identity, traditions, and spirituality. Criterion validity was demonstrated with cultural connectedness dimensions correlating well with other youth well-being indicators. The conceptualization and operationalization of the cultural connectedness has a number of potential applications both for research and prevention. This study provides an orienting framework that guides measurement of cultural connectedness that researchers need to further explore the role of culture in enhancing resiliency and well-being among FN youth in Canada. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
Childhood Adversity, Perceived Discrimination, and Coping Strategies in Relation to Depressive Symptoms Among First Nations Adults in Canada: The Moderating Role of Unsupportive Social Interactions From Ingroup and Outgroup Members
Article
  • Aug 2014
Aboriginal peoples are at greater risk of experiencing early life adversity relative to non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada, and as adults frequently experience high levels of discrimination that act as a further stressor. Although these factors appear to contribute to high rates of depressive disorders and suicidality in Aboriginal peoples, the psychosocial factors that contribute to the relationship between childhood adversity and the development of depressive symptoms have hardly been assessed in this group. The present investigation explored potential mediators to help explain the relation between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms among a sample of First Nations adults from across Canada. These mediated relationships were further examined in the context of unsupportive social interactions from ingroup and outgroup members. In Study 1, (N = 225), the relationship between childhood trauma and depression scores was mediated by perceived discrimination, and this was particularly notable in the presence of unsupportive relations with outgroup members. In Study 2, (N = 134) the relationship between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms was mediated by emotion-focused coping that was specific to coping with experiences of ethnic discrimination, and this mediated effect was moderated by both outgroup and ingroup unsupportive social interactions. Thus, it seems that experiences of discrimination and unsupport might contribute to depressive symptoms among First Nations adults who had experienced early life adverse events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).