American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Mental Health

Development, Context, Prevention, and Treatment

Paul Spicer, Patricia Farrell, Michelle C. Sarche, Hiram E. Fitzgerald, Paul Spicer, Patricia Farrell, Michelle C. Sarche, Hiram E. Fitzgerald

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780313383045
• eBook ISBN: 9780313383052
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psicologia
• Subtopic: Psicologia dello sviluppo

This unique book examines the physical, psychological, social, and environmental factors that support or undermine healthy development in American Indian children, including economics, biology, and public policies. The reasons for mental health issues among American Indian and Alaska Native children have not been well understood by investigators outside of tribal communities. Developing appropriate methodological approaches and evidence-based programs for helping these youths is an urgent priority in developmental science. This work must be done in ways that are cognizant of how the negative consequences of colonization contribute to American Indian and Alaska Native tribal members' underutilization of mental health services, higher therapy dropout rates, and poor response to culturally insensitive treatment programs. This book examines the forces affecting psychological development and mental health in American Indian children today. Experts from leading universities discuss factors such as family conditions, economic status, and academic achievement, as well as political, social, national, and global influences, including racism. Specific attention is paid to topics such as the role of community in youth mental health issues, depression in American Indian parents, substance abuse and alcohol dependency, and the unique socioeconomic characteristics of this ethnic group.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Series Foreword
• Preface
• 1. Historical Trauma and Native American Child Development and Mental Health: An Overview
• 2. American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Families: Social and Economic Conditions
• 3. American Indian and Alaska Native Grandfamilies: The Impact on Child Development
• 4. American Indian and Alaska Native Students with Disabilities: Implications for Research and Practice
• 5. Learning the Community’s Curriculum: The Linguistic, Social, and Cultural Resources of American Indian and Alaska Native Children
• 6. Ethnic Identity and Mental Health among American Indian and Alaska Native Adolescents
• 7. The Emergence of Problems in Adolescence for American Indian and Alaska Native Children
• 8. Intragenerational and Intergenerational Implications of American Indian Children’s Mental Health: The Place for Adult Development
• 9. Community-Based Participatory Research in Indian Country: Definitions, Theory, Rationale, Examples, and Principles
• 10. Systems of Mental Health Care for American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Adolescents
• 11. Community-Based Interventions for Depression in Parents and Other Caregivers on a Northern Plains Native American Reservation
• 12. The Prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in Tribal Communities
• 13. Culturally Based Education: Promoting Academic Success and the General Well-Being of Native American Students
• 14. The Indian Child Welfare Act: Implications for American Indian and Alaska Native Children, Families, and Communities
• 15. The Process and Dissemination of Cultural Adaptations of Evidence-Based Practices for American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Their Families
• 16. American Indian Life Skills: A Community-Based Intervention for Indigenous Mental Health
• 17. Cultural Interventions for American Indian and Alaska Native Youth: The Elluam Tungiinun and Nagi Kicopi Programs
• Index
• About the Editors and Contributors