Indigenous Oral Health Unit, Adelaide Dental School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
BetterStart Child Health and Development Research Group, School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
PLoS One. 2019 Aug 7;14(8):e0220744. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220744. eCollection 2019.
This study investigates the protective role of ethnic-racial identity (ERI) affirmation on the longitudinal association between racism and Aboriginal Australian children's social and emotional well-being (SEWB).
408 children from the K-Cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children were included in the analysis. Data were collected through questionnaire-guided interviews at 7-10 and 9-12 years of age. Children's racism experience, SEWB (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), and confounding were reported by caregivers. ERI was reported by children and dichotomized into high versus low. Generalized linear models with log-Poisson links and robust errors were used to estimate adjusted Risk Ratios (RRa) for the effect of racism on SEWB domains. Effect-measure modification analysis was used to verify differences on effect sizes per strata of ERI affirmation. The presence of modification was indicated by the Relative Excess Risk due to Interaction (RERI).
Slightly above half (51.4%) of the children presented high ERI affirmation. Children exposed to racism and with low ERI affirmation were at increased risk of hyperactive behavior (RRa 2.53, 95% CI 1.17, 5.48), conduct problems (RRa 2.35, 95% CI 1.07, 5.15), and total difficulties (RRa 1.73, 95% CI 0.84, 3.55). Positive RERIs indicated the joint effects of racism and low ERI affirmation surpassed the sum of their separate effects in these domains. Children with high ERI affirmation were at increased risk of peer problems (RRa 1.66, 95% CI 0.78, 3.52).
These findings suggest that ERI may mitigate the risk of poor SEWB due to racism. Fostering affirmative ERI can be an important strategy in promoting resilience in Aboriginal Australian children.
本研究旨在探讨族裔认同肯定（ERI）在种族主义与澳大利亚原住民儿童社会情感健康（SEWB）纵向关联中的保护作用。
对来自原住民儿童纵向研究 K 队列的 408 名儿童进行了分析。通过 7-10 岁和 9-12 岁时的问卷引导访谈收集了儿童的种族主义经历、SEWB（长处与困难问卷）和混杂因素的数据。儿童的 ERI 由儿童报告，分为高和低两个水平。使用带有对数泊松链接和稳健误差的广义线性模型估计了种族主义对 SEWB 各领域的影响的调整风险比（RRa）。采用交互作用归因超额相对危险度（RERI）来验证 ERI 肯定程度分层的效应大小差异。如果存在修正，则表示交互作用导致了相对超额风险（RERI）。
略高于一半（51.4%）的儿童表现出高度的 ERI 肯定。接触过种族主义且 ERI 肯定程度较低的儿童出现多动行为（RRa 2.53，95%CI 1.17，5.48）、品行问题（RRa 2.35，95%CI 1.07，5.15）和总困难（RRa 1.73，95%CI 0.84，3.55）的风险增加。正的 RERI 表明，种族主义和低 ERI 肯定的联合效应超过了这些领域中它们各自效应的总和。具有高 ERI 肯定的儿童出现同伴问题的风险增加（RRa 1.66，95%CI 0.78，3.52）。
这些发现表明，ERI 可能减轻种族主义导致的不良 SEWB 风险。培养肯定的 ERI 可能是促进澳大利亚原住民儿童适应力的重要策略。
