Addressing Trauma in American Indian and Alaska Native Youth
Authors: Amanda Lechner, Michael Cavanaugh, Crystal Blyler
Publication Year: 2016
Last Updated: 2016-09-26 12:19:54
Journal: Mathematica Policy Research
Keywords: American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth, Advisory Committee on AI/AN Children Exposed to Violence, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ,
Short Abstract:
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth experience trauma at higher rates than other youth in the U.S. population. In fact, according to a report by the Indian Country Child Trauma Center (BigFoot et al., 2008), Native youth are 2.5 times more likely to experience trauma compared to their non-Native peers. A recent report from the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on AI/AN Children Exposed to Violence noted that AI/AN juveniles experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at a rate of 22 percent, the same rate as veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and triple the rate of the general population (Dorgan et al. 2014; Robin et al. 1996).
Abstract:
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth experience trauma at higher rates than other youth in the U.S. population. In fact, according to a report by the Indian Country Child Trauma Center (BigFoot et al., 2008), Native youth are 2.5 times more likely to experience trauma compared to their non-Native peers. A recent report from the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on AI/AN Children Exposed to Violence noted that AI/AN juveniles experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at a rate of 22 percent, the same rate as veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and triple the rate of the general population (Dorgan et al. 2014; Robin et al. 1996).
Research also shows higher rates of related behavioral health concerns, including high occurrence of alcohol and substance abuse, mental health disorders, suicide, violence, and behavior-related chronic diseases across Indian Country, which continue to have a profound effect on individuals, families, and communities (Indian Health Service, 2011; Boyd-Ball, et al. 2006). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide disproportionately affects AI/ANs and is the second leading cause of death for those between the ages of 10 to 34 (2013). The suicide rate among American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 34 (19.5 per 100,000) is 1.5 times higher than the national average for that age group (12.9 per 100,000) (CDC 2013). In some locales (including, for example, many tribal Alaskan villages), Native youth complete suicide at a rate 17 times the U.S. average
(Alaska Injury Prevention Center, 2007; Wexler and Gone, 2012; Wexler et al. 2008).
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