Psychological Trauma Among American Indian Families: A Two-Generation Study

2013/02/05 by Laurelle L. Myhra, Elizabeth Wieling · 2 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Child Abuse and Trauma #Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights #Migration, Health and Trauma

paper · doi:10.1080/15325024.2013.771561

openalex publication_date 2013/02/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

The findings presented in this article come from a two-generation study exploring the psychological impact of trauma among American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) families and its perceived relationship to substance abuse across generations. Psychological traumas and stressors found to be pervasive across generations included physical and sexual abuse as well as persistent discrimination and racism, such as fear of having children removed from the home. A noteworthy finding was a decrease in reports of childhood traumas across the two generations within this sample. Implications and recommendations for clinicians and researchers working with AI populations are discussed in light of the findings.

Citations

• The Historical Trauma Response Among Natives and Its Relationship with Substance Abuse: A Lakota Illustration
• Approaches to and Outcomes of Dyadic Interview Analysis
• The educational researcher

Cited by

• The Development of the Secondary Trauma in Student Affairs Professionals Scale (STSAP)
• Native Americans in the United States [wikipedia]

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• Historical Trauma Among Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Concepts, Research, and Clinical Considerations
• American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health: Diverse Perspectives on Enduring Disparities
• Conceptualizing and Measuring Historical Trauma Among American Indian People
• The intergenerational effects of Indian Residential Schools: Implications for the concept of historical trauma
• The Perpetual Influence of Historical Trauma: A Broad Look at Indigenous Families and Communities in Areas Now Called the United States and Canada