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Cited by 30Indigenous Health, Education, and RightsRacial and Ethnic Identity ResearchChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Psychosocial factors associated with the mental health of indigenous children living in high income countries: a systematic review

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Young, Christian, Hanson, Camilla, Craig, Jonathan C., Clapham, Kathleen, Williamson, Anna·2017·International Journal for Equity in Health
DOI 10.1186/s12939-017-0652-5PMC PMC5568067
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Indigenous children living in high income countries have a consistently high prevalence of mental health problems. We aimed to identify psychosocial risk and protective factors for mental health in this setting. METHODS: A systematic review of studies published between 1996 and 2016 that quantitatively evaluated the association between psychosocial variables and mental health among Indigenous children living in high income countries was conducted. Psychosocial variables were grouped into commonly occurring domains. Individual studies were judged to provide evidence for an association between a domain and either good mental health, poor mental health, or a negligible or inconsistent association. The overall quality of evidence across all studies for each domain was assessed using the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) guidelines. RESULTS: Forty-seven papers were eligible (mainland US 30 [64%], Canada 8 [17%], Australia 7 [15%], Hawaii 4 [9%]), including 58,218 participants aged 4-20 years. Most papers were cross-sectional (39, 83%) and measured negative mental health outcomes (41, 87%). Children's negative cohesion with their families and the presence of adverse events appeared the most reliable predictors of increased negative mental health outcomes. Children's substance use, experiences of discrimination, comorbid internalising symptoms, and negative parental behaviour also provided evidence of associations with negative mental health outcomes. Positive family and peer relationships, high self-esteem and optimism were associated with increased positive mental health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative research investigating Indigenous children's mental health is largely cross-sectional and focused upon negative outcomes. Indigenous children living in high income countries share many of the same risk and protective factors associated with mental health. The evidence linking children's familial environment, psychological traits, substance use and experiences of discrimination with mental health outcomes highlights key targets for more concerted efforts to develop initiatives to improve the mental health of Indigenous children.

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  • Racial, ethnic or sexual minority status is associated with higher rates of health problems, through experiences of discrimination and systemic biases.

    “Racial, ethnic or sexual minority status is associated with higher rates of health problems, through experiences of discrimination and systemic biases165.”

    From Comorbidity between major depressive disorder and physical diseases: a comprehensive review of epidemiology, mechanisms and management (2023) · cites this paper as [165]

    The Background reports disproportionate mental health problems among Indigenous children in high-income countries, and the Results > Discrimination section reports an association between racial discrimination and poor mental health in 7 of 8 studies. The source does not establish the claim for sexual minorities or health problems generally; its Discussion also cautions that the measured effects concern explicit discrimination, not the effects of systemic racism. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  1. [29]Cohen J Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences (revised edition) 1977 New York Acedemic Press

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Authors
Young, C., Hanson, C., Craig, J. C., Clapham, K., & Williamson, A.
Affiliations
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
  • University of Wollongong (AU)
  • Sax Institute (AU)
Corresponding author
Young, Christian
ORCID
Venue
International Journal for Equity in Health
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2017-08-23
Volume
16
Issue
1
Pages
153-153
ISSN
1475-9276 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12939-017-0652-5
PMC
PMC5568067
OpenAlex
W2750086795
Cited by
30
References
106
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1
FWCI
0.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • International Journal for Equity in Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Online (University of Wollongong) (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion)
  • ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Australian Post-Graduate Award (Not applicable)
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 › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
indigenous children, child mental health, psychosocial risk factors, protective factors, family cohesion, adverse childhood experiences, substance use, discrimination, internalizing problems, parental behavior, peer relationships, self-esteem, optimism, high-income countries
MeSH terms
Mental Disorders, Child, Humans, Psychology, Developed Countries, Population Groups

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