Resiliency and Risk in Native American Communities: A Culturally Informed Investigation

Resiliency and Risk in Native American Communities: A Culturally Informed Investigation

Indigenous peoples

Annjeanette Elise Belcourt-Dittloff

2007

University of Montana

Dissertation

English

United States

Open Access

This paper reviews recent research findings and empirically investigates resiliency and vulnerability factors within two Native American communities. The primary factors under consideration are related to American Indian psychosocial factors. This project is an exploratory investigation of pathology and wellness for understudied American Indians, and it examines the nature of resiliency and risk for American Indians. The factors under investigation include adversarial growth, spirituality, ethnic identity, communal identity, social support, historical trauma, stressors experienced, hope, quality of life, and general psychological status for American Indians sampled. Numerous statistically significant relationships emerged, providing empirical support for culturally embedded aspects of resiliency among American Indians. The most salient resiliency factors for Native American/American Indians, in order of statistical significance, were: social support, hope, general resilient coping abilities, traditional cultural and spiritual practices, ethnic pride/enculturation, and communal mastery.

Kristen Walker