Viscogliosi Chantal, Asselin Hugo, Trottier Lise, D'Amours Monia, Levasseur Mélanie
School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
Research Centre on Aging, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l'Estrie-Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Mar 16;22(1):512. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-12887-6.
Indigenous elders play an important role in transmitting knowledge, values and practices, hence fostering identity-building through intergenerational solidarity. We aimed to verify the association between intergenerational solidarity involving Indigenous elders and mental health of Indigenous people living off reserve.
We carried secondary analyses of data for a subsample from the cross-sectional 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (total sample: n = 28,410 Indigenous persons aged ≥6 years old living off reserve; subsample: n = 13,020 aged 18-44 years old). Controlling for age as well as material and social deprivation, we used logistic regressions to verify the association between intergenerational solidarity (proxied as time spent with an elder and potential of turning to an elder or grandparent for support in times of need) and mental health (perceived mental health, mood disorders, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and attempts).
About 39 and 9% of the respondents respectively reported having spent time with an elder and would have turned to an elder or grandparent for support in times of need. Women who would not turn to an elder or grandparent for support in times of need were more likely to report fair or poor perceived mental health (OR = 1.69, p = 0.03). Men not spending time with an elder were more likely to experience mood disorders (OR = 1.66, p = 0.004). Women who would not turn to an elder or grandparent for support in times of need were more likely to experience anxiety disorders (OR = 1.57, p = 0.04). Women not spending time with an elder or who would not turn to an elder or grandparent for support in times of need were respectively more likely to have suicidal thoughts (OR = 1.62, p = 0.04) or to have attempted suicide (OR = 3.38, p = 0.04).
Intergenerational solidarity is associated with better mental health outcomes of Indigenous people living off reserve. These results could guide policies and practices that aim to enhance mental health and wellness in Indigenous populations.
原住民长者在传承知识、价值观和习俗方面发挥着重要作用，从而通过代际团结促进身份认同的构建。我们旨在验证涉及原住民长者的代际团结与生活在保留地之外的原住民心理健康之间的关联。
我们对2012年原住民调查横断面样本中的一个子样本数据进行了二次分析（总样本：n = 28410名年龄≥6岁且生活在保留地之外的原住民；子样本：n = 13020名年龄在18 - 44岁之间）。在控制年龄以及物质和社会剥夺因素的情况下，我们使用逻辑回归来验证代际团结（以与长者相处的时间以及在需要时向长者或祖父母寻求支持的可能性来衡量）与心理健康（感知到的心理健康、情绪障碍、焦虑、自杀念头和自杀未遂）之间的关联。
分别约有39%和9%的受访者表示曾与长者相处过，以及在需要时会向长者或祖父母寻求支持。在需要时不会向长者或祖父母寻求支持的女性更有可能报告感知到的心理健康状况一般或较差（比值比 = 1.69，p = 0.03）。不与长者相处的男性更有可能经历情绪障碍（比值比 = 1.66，p = 0.004）。在需要时不会向长者或祖父母寻求支持的女性更有可能经历焦虑障碍（比值比 = 1.57，p = 0.04）。不与长者相处或在需要时不会向长者或祖父母寻求支持的女性分别更有可能有自杀念头（比值比 = 1.62，p = 0.04）或曾尝试自杀（比值比 = 3.38，p = 0.04）。
代际团结与生活在保留地之外的原住民更好的心理健康结果相关。这些结果可为旨在改善原住民心理健康和福祉的政策及实践提供指导。
