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Cited by 151Indigenous Health, Education, and RightsHIV, Drug Use, Sexual RiskHomelessness and Social Issues

The Cedar Project: Historical Trauma, Sexual Abuse and HIV Risk among Young Aboriginal People Who Use Injection and Non-Injection Drugs in Two Canadian Cities

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For the Cedar Project Partnership, Pearce, Margo E., Christian, Wayne M., Patterson, Katharina, Norris, Kat, Moniruzzaman, Akm, Craib, Kevin J.P., Schechter, Martin T. +1 more·2008·Social Science & Medicine
DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.03.034PMC PMC5125817
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Abstract

Recent Indigenist scholarship has situated high rates of traumatic life experiences, including sexual abuse, among Indigenous peoples of North America within the larger context of their status as colonized peoples. Sexual abuse has been linked to many negative health outcomes including mental, sexual and drug-related vulnerabilities. There is a paucity of research in Canada addressing the relationship between antecedent sexual abuse and negative health outcomes among Aboriginal people including elevated risk of HIV infection. The primary objectives of this study were to determine factors associated with sexual abuse among participants of the Cedar Project, a cohort of young Aboriginal people between the ages of 14 and 30 years who use injection and non-injection drugs in two urban centres in British Columbia, Canada; and to locate findings through a lens of historical and intergenerational trauma. We utilized post-colonial perspectives in research design, problem formulation and the interpretation of results. Multivariate modeling was used to determine the extent to which a history of sexual abuse was predictive of negative health outcomes and vulnerability to HIV infection. Of the 543 eligible participants, 48% reported ever having experienced sexual abuse; 69% of sexually abused participants were female. The median age of first sexual abuse was 6 years for both female and male participants. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables and factors of historical trauma, sexually abused participants were more likely to have ever been on the streets for more than three nights, to have ever self-harmed, to have suicide ideation, to have attempted suicide, to have a diagnosis of mental illness, to have been in the emergency department within the previous 6 months, to have had over 20 lifetime sexual partners, to have ever been paid for sex and to have ever overdosed. The prevalence and consequences of sexual abuse among Cedar Project participants are of grave concern. Sexual trauma will continue to impact individuals, families and communities until unresolved historical trauma is meaningfully addressed in client-driven, culturally safe programming.

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  • In health and child development literatures, a family history of residential school attendance is now an individual 'risk factor' that explains a range of complex social phenomena in Indigenous communities, from lack of parenting skills to sexual assault, Hepatitis C infection, and suicide.

    “In health and child development literatures, a family history of residential school attendance is now an individual ' risk factor ' that explains a range of complex social phenomena in Indigenous communities, from lack of parenting skills (Ball 2008) to sexual assault (Patterson et al. 2008), Hepatitis C infection (Craib et al. 2009), and suicide (Elias 2012).”

    From Settler-Humanitarianism: Healing the Indigenous Child-Victim (2017) · cites this paper as Patterson et al. 2008

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Authors
For the Cedar Project Partnership, Pearce, M. E., Christian, W. M., Patterson, K., Norris, K., Moniruzzaman, A., Craib, K. J. P., Schechter, M. T., & Spittal, P. M.
Affiliations
  • Positive Living North (CA)
  • Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes (CA)
  • University of British Columbia (CA)
Corresponding author
Spittal, Patricia M.
ORCID
Venue
Social Science & Medicine
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2008-06
Volume
66
Issue
11
Pages
2185-2194
ISSN
0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.03.034
PMC
PMC5125817
OpenAlex
W2135036092
Cited by
151
References
56
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 7
FWCI
12.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (81737)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Homelessness and Social Issues
Keywords
sexual abuse, historical trauma, intergenerational trauma, HIV risk, Aboriginal youth, indigenous peoples, intravenous drug use, non-injection drug use, self-harm, suicidal ideation, mental illness, sex work, drug overdose, colonization, postcolonial perspectives, British Columbia
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, British Columbia, Female, Humans, Indians, North American, Male, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Sex Offenses, Violence, Cohort Studies, HIV Infections, Substance Abuse, Intravenous, Prevalence

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