Document Type
Article
Keywords
grief, depressive symptoms, health disparities, Indigenous, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native American, historical loss
Disciplines
Social Work
Abstract
Indigenous peoples have not only experienced a devastating rate of historical loss of lives, they are more likely to experience mortality disparities. The purpose of this article is to examine Indigenous women’s lived experiences of grief and loss in two Southeastern tribes and the relationship between depressive symptoms and recent loss of a loved one. Our exploratory sequential mixed-methods research was informed by the Indigenous based Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence (FHORT). We summarized key qualitative themes from ethnographic data from 287 female participants across the two tribes, collected through focus groups, family interviews, and individual interviews. We then quantitatively examined how these themes predicted depressive outcomes among 127 respondents. Specifically, we examined associations between depressive symptoms and components of historical oppression—historical loss, loss of lives, and the presence of PTSD symptoms—along with resilience and transcendence.
Publication Title
OMEGA—Journal of Death and Dying
Volume
85
Issue
1
Article Number
1038
Publication Date
2022
First Page
88
Last Page
113
DOI of Published Version
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0030222820939391
Language
English
Peer Reviewed
1
Recommended Citation
McKinley, Catherine E.; Scarnato, Jennifer Miller; and Sanders, Sara, "Why Are So Many Indigenous Peoples Dying and No One Is Paying Attention? Depressive Symptoms and “Loss of Loved Ones” as a Result and Driver of Health Disparities" (2022). Social Service Faculty Publications. 29.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/gss_facultypubs/29
Version
Published
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
