The Cedar Project: Qualitative narratives addressing the impact of childhood trauma on stress-coping and pathways to healing among young Indigenous people who use drugs in two Canadian cities

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margo Pearce ◽  
Wayne M. Christian ◽  
Alden H. Blair ◽  
Martin T. Schechter ◽  
Patricia M. Spittal
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Pearce ◽  
K. A. Jongbloed ◽  
S. D. Pooyak ◽  
A. H. Blair ◽  
W. M. Christian ◽  
...  

Background.Mental health and wellbeing, including addressing impacts of historical trauma and substance use among young people, has been identified as a key priority by Indigenous communities and leaders across Canada and globally. Yet, research to understand mental health among young Indigenous people who have used drugs is limited.Aims.To examine longitudinal risk and strengths-based factors associated with psychological distress among young Indigenous people who use drugs.Method.The Cedar Project is an ongoing cohort study involving young Indigenous people who use drugs in Vancouver, Prince George, and Chase, British Columbia, Canada. This study included participants who completed the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, returned for follow-up between 2010 and 2012, and completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Adjusted linear mixed-effects models estimated effects of study variables on changes in area T-scores of psychological distress.Results.Of 202 eligible participants, 53% were women and the mean age was 28 years. Among men, childhood maltreatment (emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect), any drug use, blackouts from drinking, and sex work were associated with increased distress. Among women, childhood maltreatment (emotional abuse, physical abuse, physical neglect), blackouts from drinking, and sexual assault were associated with increased distress, while having attempted to quit using drugs was associated with reduced distress. Marginal associations were observed between speaking their traditional language and living by traditional culture with lower distress among men.Conclusion.Culturally safe mental wellness interventions are urgently needed to address childhood trauma and harmful coping strategies that exacerbate distress among young Indigenous people who use drugs.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Syed Sheriff ◽  
Miranda Van Hooff ◽  
Gin Malhi ◽  
Blair Grace ◽  
Alexander McFarlane

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa O'Rourke ◽  
Carsten Vogel ◽  
Dennis John ◽  
Rüdiger Pryss ◽  
Johannes Schobel ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND It is necessary to cope with situations in daily life to prevent stress-related health consequences. However, coping strategies might differ in their impact on dealing with stressful situations in daily life. Moreover, the effect of coping strategies on situational coping might differ between women and men. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of coping strategies on situational coping in everyday life situations and to investigate gender differences. METHODS An ecological momentary assessment study with the mobile health app TrackYourStress (TYS) was conducted with 113 participants. Coping strategies were measured at baseline with the coping scales Positive Thinking, Active Stress Coping, Social Support, Support in Faith, and Alcohol and Cigarette Consumption of the Stress and Coping Inventory (SCI). Situational coping was assessed by the question “How well can you cope with your momentary stress-level” (slider 0-100) in daily life over four weeks. Multilevel models were conducted to test the effects of the coping strategies on situational coping. Additionally, gender differences were evaluated. RESULTS Positive Thinking (P=.03) and Active Stress Coping (P=.04) had significant positive impacts on situational coping in the total sample. For women, only Social Support had a significant positive effect on situational coping (P=.046). For men, only Active Stress Coping had a significant positive effect on situational coping (P=.001). Women had higher scores on the SCI scale Social Support than men (P=.007). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that different coping strategies could be more effective in daily life for women than for men, which should be considered in the development of interventions aimed at reducing stress consequences through coping. Interventions taking gender into consideration might lead to better coping-outcomes than generalized interventions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (21-22) ◽  
pp. 4709-4731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa J. London ◽  
Mary C. Mercer ◽  
Michelle M. Lilly

Recent research has demonstrated that first responders may report posttraumatic growth (PTG), positive psychological changes that arise in the aftermath of a trauma. Less is known regarding the perception of PTG among 9-1-1 telecommunicators, a group of first responders exposed to a high degree of lifetime trauma, including duty-related trauma as well as early and non-duty-related trauma. Moreover, the impact of childhood trauma on the processes involved in the perception of growth is less clear. While some distress is needed to facilitate processes that lead to the perception of PTG, it has been suggested that positive associations between PTG and pathology reflect avoidant coping or represent an illusory component of PTG. Structural equation models were used to examine early trauma exposure, coping, and pathology in predicting PTG among 9-1-1 telecommunicators ( N = 788). In separate models using active and avoidant forms of coping, childhood trauma exposure had an indirect effect on PTG through coping. In a model considering both forms of coping, childhood trauma had an indirect effect on PTG through psychopathology, but not through coping. The results show that early trauma exposure leads to the perception of growth through pathways indicative of both adaptive and maladaptive coping processes.


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