Why Are So Many Indigenous Peoples Dying and No One Is Paying Attention? Depressive Symptoms and “Loss of Loved Ones” as a Result and Driver of Health Disparities

Bibliographic Data

ID13627906
AuthorsC E Mckinley (0000-0002-1770-5088, Tulane University, corresponding author), Jennifer Miller Scarnato (Tulane University), Sara Sanders (0000-0001-5682-5990, University of Iowa)
Year2020
Volume85
Issue1
Pages88-113
Publication date2020-07-07
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0030222820939391
PMID32635802
OpenAlexW3042215377
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited22

Indigenous peoples have not only experienced a devastating rate of historical loss of lives, they are more likely to experience mortality disparities. The purpose of this article is to examine Indigenous women's lived experiences of grief and loss in two Southeastern tribes and the relationship between depressive symptoms and recent loss of a loved one. Our exploratory sequential mixed-methods research was informed by the Indigenous based Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence (FHORT). We summarized key qualitative themes from ethnographic data from 287 female participants across the two tribes, collected through focus groups, family interviews, and individual interviews. We then quantitatively examined how these themes predicted depressive outcomes among 127 respondents. Specifically, we examined associations between depressive symptoms and components of historical oppression-historical loss, loss of lives, and the presence of PTSD symptoms-along with resilience and transcendence

Exploratory research · Grief · Historical trauma · Indigenous · Oppression · Political science · Psychiatry · Psychological resilience · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Social Psychology · Gerontology

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