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Cited by 119Indigenous Health, Education, and RightsRacial and Ethnic Identity ResearchPosttraumatic Stress Disorder Research

Measuring Historical Trauma in an American Indian Community Sample: Contributions of Substance Dependence, Affective Disorder, Conduct Disorder and PTSD

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Ehlers, Cindy L., Gizer, Ian R., Gilder, David A., Ellingson, Jarrod M., Yehuda, Rachel·2013·Drug and Alcohol Dependence
DOI 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.05.011PMC PMC3810370
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Abstract

Background The American Indian experience of historical trauma is thought of as both a source of intergenerational trauma responses as well as a potential causative factor for long-term distress and substance abuse among communities. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the extent to which the frequency of thoughts of historical loss and associated symptoms are influenced by: current traumatic events, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cultural identification, percent Native American Heritage, substance dependence, affective/anxiety disorders, and conduct disorder/antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Methods Participants were American Indians recruited from reservations that were assessed with the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA), The Historical Loss Scale and The Historical Loss Associated Symptoms Scale (to quantify frequency of thoughts and symptoms of historical loss) the Stressful-Life-Events Scale (to assess experiences of trauma) and the Orthogonal Cultural Identification Scale (OCIS). Results Three hundred and six (306) American Indian adults participated in the study. Over half of them indicated that they thought about historical losses at least occasionally, and that it caused them distress. Logistic regression revealed that significant increases in how often a person thought about historical losses were associated with: not being married, high degrees of Native Heritage, and high cultural identification. Additionally, anxiety/affective disorders and substance dependence were correlated with historical loss associated symptoms. Conclusions In this American Indian community, thoughts about historical losses and their associated symptomatology are common and the presence of these thoughts are associated with Native American Heritage, cultural identification, and substance dependence.

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  • Many studies reported significant associations between higher levels of reported historical trauma experience and adverse health outcomes; several studies linked historical trauma to increased substance use.

    “Many studies reported significant associations between higher levels of reported historical trauma experience and adverse health outcomes; specifically, several studies linked historical trauma to increased substance use [26,27,28,29].”

    From Substance and Behavioral Addictions among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations (2022) · cites this paper as [26]

    The Discussion reports that participants with lifetime substance dependence had significantly higher historical-loss and associated-symptom scores, supporting an association in this American Indian community sample. It also says the cross-sectional data cannot establish direction: the paper does not show that historical trauma led to increased substance use. The cited passage concerns substance dependence and thoughts about historical loss, rather than a measured increase in substance use. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Historical trauma is directly linked to poor health outcomes and increased substance use.

    “Previous research has established historical trauma as directly linked to poor health outcomes and increased substance use [20,21,22,26,27,28,29,99].”

    From Substance and Behavioral Addictions among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations (2022) · cites this paper as [26]

    The Results and Discussion (page numbers unavailable) report an association between historical-loss-related distress and substance dependence in the American Indian community studied. The Discussion explicitly says the cross-sectional data cannot establish the direction of that association. The paper does not establish a direct link from historical trauma to poor health outcomes or increased substance use. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • AIANs resorted to substance use and other behavioral addictions to cope with multiple, chronic, and acute stressors related to discrimination, cultural and material losses, genocide, and knowledge of deliberate efforts to erase the culture.

    “Potentially as a direct result, or through indirect associations, AIANs resorted to substance use and other behavioral addictions to cope with the multiple, chronic, and acute stressors related to discrimination, cultural and material losses, genocide, and knowledge of the deliberate efforts to erase the culture [26,27,28,29,99].”

    From Substance and Behavioral Addictions among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations (2022) · cites this paper as [26]

    The Results and Discussion (page not available in our copy) link substance dependence with symptoms associated with historical loss in one American Indian community. The Discussion explicitly says the cross-sectional data cannot establish the direction of that relationship. The paper therefore does not establish that AIANs used substances to cope with those stressors, and it does not address behavioral addictions. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Ehlers, C. L., Gizer, I. R., Gilder, D. A., Ellingson, J. M., & Yehuda, R.
Affiliations
  • Scripps Research Institute (US)
  • University of Missouri (US)
  • James J. Peters VA Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
Ehlers, Cindy L.
ORCID
Venue
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-11
Volume
133
Issue
1
Pages
180-187
ISSN
0376-8716 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.05.011
PMC
PMC3810370
OpenAlex
W2065475038
Cited by
119
References
78
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 1
FWCI
4.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Drug and Alcohol Dependence (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R37AA010201, K05AA017242)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA030976, R01DA030976)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
Keywords
historical trauma, Native Americans, Native American heritage, cultural identification, substance dependence, mood disorders, conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, intergenerational trauma, historical loss, life events, marital status, Indian reservations
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Culture, Female, Humans, Indians, North American, Life Change Events, Male, Middle Aged, Social Identification, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Conduct Disorder, Mood Disorders, Substance-Related Disorders

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