Social Stressors, Community Belonging, And Culture-Related Protective Factors Among Youth And Adults In First Nations Communities: Links With Psychological Distress

Abstract

Secondary analyses of the 2015/16 First Nations Regional Health Survey (RHS) explored the pathways in which various social and cultural factors were related psychological distress in First Nations youth (Study One) and adults (Study Two) living on-reserve in Canada. Multivariate analyses revealed that social stressors assessed in youth (i.e., bullying, cyberbullying) and adult (i.e., cyberbullying, physical aggression, verbal aggression, racism) were positively associated with psychological distress. In youth and adults, strong community belonging was associated with reduced psychological distress. Conversely, agreement that cultural events (for youth) and traditional spirituality (for adults) were important was associated with higher psychological distress. Amongst youth (Study One), strong community belonging protected against high levels of distress associated with bullying/cyberbullying. Amongst adults (Study Two) strong community belonging protected (moderated) against high distress levels associated with racism, but agreement that traditional importance of traditional spirituality increased (moderated) psychological distress levels associated with physical aggression.