Wakȟáŋyeža (Little Holy One) – an intergenerational intervention for Native American parents and children: A protocol for a randomized controlled trial with embedded single-case experimental design

Background Trauma within Native American communities compromises parents’ parenting capacity; thus, increasing childrens’ risk for substance use and suicide over the lifespan. The objective of this manuscript is to describe the Wakȟáŋyeža (Little Holy One) intervention and evaluation protocol, that is designed to break cycles of intergenerational trauma, suicide, and substance use among Fort Peck […]

Wakȟáŋyeža (Little Holy One): An intergenerational intervention for Native American parents and children: a protocol for a randomized controlled trial with embedded single-case experimental design

Background Trauma within Native American communities compromises parents’ parenting capacity; thus, increasing childrens’ risk for substance use and suicide over the lifespan. The objective of this manuscript is to describe the Wakȟáŋyeža (Little Holy One) intervention and evaluation protocol, that is designed to break cycles of intergenerational trauma, suicide, and substance use among Fort Peck […]

Disrupted attachments: A social context complex trauma framework and the lives of Aboriginal peoples in Canada

The idea of “disrupted attachments” speaks to the multiple levels on which the historic and contemporary assaults on Aboriginal peoples in Canada have resonated. Not only have the policies of colonialism expressly aimed to sever the attachment of Canada’s First Nations to their land, customs, culture, modes of self-governance, languages and ways of life, but […]

Transgenerational concordance in parent-to-child transmission of suicidal behaviour: A retrospective, nationwide, register-based cohort study of 4419642 individuals in Denmark

Background Suicidal behaviour runs in families, but the nature of transgenerational concordance needs elucidation. The aim of this study was to examine parent-to-child transmission by investigating whether presence and nature of parental suicidal behaviour was associated with suicidal behaviour in children. Methods We did a retrospective, nationwide, register-based cohort study in Demark using register data. […]

Promising healing practices for interventions addressing intergenerational trauma among Aboriginal youth: A scoping review

There is growing recognition in Canada around the role of intergenerational trauma in shaping physical and mental health inequities among Aboriginal youth. We examined recommendations on best practices for addressing intergenerational trauma in interventions for Aboriginal youth. Academic-community partnerships were formed to guide this scoping literature review. Peer-reviewed academic literature and “grey” sources were searched. […]

The intergenerational transmission of suicidal behavior: An offspring of siblings study

We examined the extent to which genetic factors shared across generations, measured covariates, and environmental factors associated with parental suicidal behavior (suicide attempt or suicide) account for the association between parental and offspring suicidal behavior. We used a Swedish cohort of 2,762,883 offspring born 1973–2001. We conducted two sets of analyses with offspring of half- […]

Intergenerational trauma: The relationship between residential schools and the child welfare system among young people who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada

Purpose This study investigated the relationship between familial residential school system (RSS) exposure and personal child welfare system (CWS) involvement among young people who use drugs (PWUD). Methods Data were obtained from two linked cohorts of PWUD in Vancouver, Canada, and restricted to Indigenous participants. Multivariable logisticregression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between three categories of familial RSS exposure (none, […]

The impact of stressors on second generation Indian residential school survivors.

From 1863 to 1996, many Aboriginal children in Canada were forced to attend Indian Residential Schools (IRSs), where many experienced neglect, abuse, and the trauma of separation from their families and culture. The present study examined the intergenerational impact of IRS exposure on depressive symptomatology in a convenience sample of 143 First Nations adults. IRS […]

New Research: Resistance to Indigenous suicide.

A book review of Dying to please you: Indigenous suicide in contemporary Canada by Roland Chrisjohn and Shaunessy McKay.

Dying to please you: Indigenous suicide in contemporary Canada.

Resistance is the cure for Indigenous suicides. There is nothing “wrong” with Indigenous individuals that was not caused by the relentless violence of ongoing colonization, and therefore the treatment of the fatal condition of dispossession and oppression is to right that basic wrong. That, and an anti-capitalist campaign that will set the humanistic balance of […]

Suicide ideation and attempts among First Nations peoples living on-reserve in Canada: The intergenerational and cumulative effects of Indian residential schools.

OBJECTIVE: Suicide rates among Indigenous peoples in Canada are at least twice that of their non-Indigenous counterparts. Although contemporary stressors contribute to this increased risk, historical experiences such as the Indian Residential School (IRS) system may also have continuing links with the risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The current investigation examined the intergenerational and […]

Cognitive vulnerabilities and development of suicidal thanking in children of depressed mothers: A longitudinal investigation.

Higher levels of brooding rumination in children of depressed mothers with SI history Higher levels of hopelessness and lower global self-worth predicted first onset of SI Results maintained even after accounting for MDD in children during the follow-up Results suggest specific cognitive vulnerabilities as suicide prevention targets Contact us for a copy of this article, […]

The intergenerational effects of Indian Residential Schools: Implications for the concept of historical trauma.

The current paper reviews research that has explored the intergenerational effects of the Indian Residential School (IRS) system in Canada, in which Aboriginal children were forced to live at schools where various forms of neglect and abuse were common. Intergenerational IRS trauma continues to undermine the well-being of todayÕs Aboriginal population, and having a familial […]

Childhood adversity, perceived discrimination, and coping strategies in relation to depressive symptoms among First Nations adults in Canada: The moderating role of unsupportive social interactions from ingroup and outgroup members.

Aboriginal peoples are at greater risk of experiencing early life adversity relative to non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada, and as adults frequently experience high levels of discrimination that act as a further stressor. Although these factors appear to contribute to high rates of depressive disorders and suicidality in Aboriginal peoples, the psychosocial factors that contribute to […]

Appraisals of discriminatory events among adult offspring of Indian Residential School survivors: The influences of identity centrality and past perceptions of discrimination.

As part of a government policy of assimilation beginning in the mid-1800s, a large proportion of Aboriginal children in Canada were forcibly removed from their homes to attend Indian Residential Schools (IRSs), a practice which continued into the 1990s. This traumatic experience had lasting negative effects not only on those who attended but also on […]

Intergenerational transmission of maladaptive parenting strategies in families of adolescent mothers: Effects from grandmothers to young children.

The current longitudinal study examined the effect of the transmission of maladaptive parenting strategies from grandmothers to adolescent mothers on childrenÕs subsequent development. Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (N = 204) participated in home interviews when the adolescentÕs child (89 boys, 60 girls) was 2, 3, 4, and 5 years old. GrandmothersÕ psychological control toward the adolescent mother was […]

Trauma and suicide behaviour histories among a Canadian indigenous population: An empirical exploration of the potential role of Canada’s residential school system.

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