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Item U.S. politics as a loss reminder: an adaptation of the historical loss scale(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Wood, Zachary John; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Neha John-HendersonHistorical loss, the degree to which American Indians (AIs) think about losses such as land, culture, and life, is a contributor to experiences of historical trauma and its negative impacts in AIs. The relationship between historical loss and political participation among AIs has not been examined. AIs have lower rates of political participation than other groups, and ample political participation among AIs is necessary to protect their sovereignty, values, and interests. Minority groups can become mobilized to political action through perceiving discrimination or injustices against them. Measures of historical loss contain items related to the discrimination and injustices that AIs have experienced. While the Historical Loss Scale (HLS) measures the frequency with which AIs think about historical loss, it is rather general and may not relate to U.S. politics or the U.S. government in all cases. Thus, an adaptation of the HLS is introduced called the U.S. Politics as a Loss Reminder Scale (USPLRS) that contextualizes historical losses within the context of U.S. politics. A primary goal of the study was to examine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the USPLRS. Further, it is possible that by directly contextualizing historical loss within U.S. politics, there will be a positive relationship between the extent to which AIs report U.S. politics act as a reminder of historical losses, and their levels of political engagement. It is also possible that a frequency of general thoughts about historical loss measured by the HLS will also be associated with political engagement. To test these hypotheses, a sample of AI adults (n=877) completed a series of questionnaires including the HLS, USPLRS, and measures of political engagement during the November 2020 national election cycle. Results revealed a 3-factor structure of the USPLRS related to losses due to government mistreatment, death, and loss of respect. Scores on both the HLS and USPLRS were positively associated with political participation, with the USPLRS exhibiting unique predictability beyond the HLS.Item Relationship between social support and substance use among American Indian people with substance use disorder(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Neavill, Morgan Eva; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Monica SkewesAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) have endured trauma over generations and still experience systemic racism and oppression today. Historical trauma has contributed to health problems among AI/ANs, including high rates of substance use disorder. Social support is a protective factor for substance use in other populations; however, little is known about the role of social support and substance use in AI/AN communities. The current study employed secondary data analysis to understand the relationship between social support and substance use among AI/AN adults with substance use disorder. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research framework, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in partnership with an AI reservation community in Montana to examine risk and protective factors for substance use. Participants were 198 tribal members who self-identified as having a substance use problem. Social network characteristics were assessed using a modified version of the Important People Drug and Alcohol (IPDA) interview and substance use was assessed using the Timeline Followback. Consistent with previous research, the current study found that network substance use behavior was a better predictor of participant substance use outcomes than general support, substance specific support, or support for recovery/treatment. Variables associated with greater drug and alcohol abstinence among participants included living in larger household, having a greater percentage of the household that is sober, not having attended boarding school, having a larger percentage of the social network that does not accept one's substance use, having a smaller percentage of the social network rated as moderate or heavy substance users, and having a smaller percentage of the social network that uses substances frequently. An additional analysis was conducted to test whether the association between social support and participant substance use was moderated by the substance use behavior of the network, but the interaction was not significant. Contrary to prior research, the size, general supportiveness, and importance of the social network were not significantly associated with participant substance use. Results suggest that the IPDA may benefit from modifications to improve its usefulness in addiction research with AI/ANs. Implications for tribal members with substance use problems, their loved ones, and community leaders are discussed.Item Childhood trauma exposure, age and self-compassion as predictors of later-life symptoms of depression and anxiety in an American Indian sample(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Larsen, Jade Michael; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Neha John-HendersonPast research has established a relationship between childhood trauma and later-life anxiety and depression symptoms in American Indian samples. However, less is known about protective factors that may reduce the strength of this relationship. The purpose of the present study was to assess self-compassion as a protective factor with an emphasis on age as additional potential moderator. Seven hundred and twenty-nine self-identifying American Indian participants completed self-report measures pertaining to this question online via Qualtrics. The hypotheses were such that self-compassion would be protective against later-life anxiety and depression symptoms at all age points (Hypothesis 1), that the interaction between self-compassion and childhood trauma exposure would be statistically significant for those higher in trauma but not lower (Hypothesis 2) and that there would be a three-way interaction among self-compassion, age and childhood trauma exposure, such that age would moderate the interaction between childhood trauma exposure and self-compassion in predicting symptoms of anxiety and depression (Hypothesis 3). Regression analyses found support for Hypothesis 1, indicating that self-compassion is protective against anxiety and depression symptoms in this sample. Support for Hypothesis 2 was not found, as the interaction between self-compassion and childhood trauma exposure did not significantly predict anxiety or depression symptoms. Hypothesis 3 was supported in that the three-way interaction significantly predicted both later-life anxiety and depression symptoms, such that older participants who reported high levels of self-compassion tended to have the lowest symptoms. These findings indicate that self-compassion may have age dependent effects in moderating the relationship between childhood trauma exposure and later-life symptoms of anxiety and depression in American Indian samples.Item Cultural adaptation and preliminary validation of a measure of grief for American Indian and Alaska Native populations(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Gameon, Julie Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Monica SkewesGrief research among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people has been limited to studies focused on unresolved grief associated with historical trauma or epidemiological studies focused on reporting mortality rates among AI/AN people. Grief measures developed and tested in non-Native populations have not been validated for use with AI/ANs and may not reflect a culturally appropriate Native perspective on grief. Additionally, research on adaptive grieving, or how people grow while healing from grief, has not been studied in this population. The current study aimed to: 1) work with AI/AN community members to culturally adapt the Inventory of Complicated Grief and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and 2) test the psychometric properties of the resulting culturally adapted Indigenous Grief Inventory. In Study One, interviews were conducted with AI reservation-based community members (N = 12) to gain insight into Native perspectives on grief. Findings suggested unique cultural considerations related to grieving and healing following the loss of a loved one in Native communities. Some items were revised and new items were developed based on participant feedback, and a pool of 60 items was generated for further testing. In Study Two, a sample of AI/AN community members (n =10) and academics (n = 7) was recruited to provide feedback on the measure items adapted or developed in Study One. Based on participants' ratings and feedback, items with low cultural appropriateness and comprehension scores were removed, and other items were revised, leaving 45 items remaining for psychometric testing. In Study Three, a web-based survey including the culturally adapted Indigenous Grief Inventory and mental and behavioral health measures was administered to 600 AI/AN people who reported experiencing a significant loss in their lifetime. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using separate randomly selected samples from the survey data (ns = 300) were conducted to identify the factor structure of the culturally adapted measure. Items were trimmed following these analyses, resulting in a two-factor Indigenous Grief Inventory. Additional analyses were conducted to examine the convergent and discriminant validity and measurement invariance of the revised measure. Findings suggest that the final 26-item Indigenous Grief Inventory developed in this dissertation is valid, reliable, and suitable for use in health research with AI/AN people.Item With a little help from my friends: investigating communal mastery as a contributor to resilient outcomes among American Indians with substance use disorder(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Lahiere, Amanda Nicole; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Monica SkewesAmerican Indians and Alaskan Natives (AI/ANs) have endured significant historical and individual adversity across several generations. Such adversity is associated with negative mental, physical, and behavioral outcomes. However, this adversity is not always associated with negative outcomes for all AI/ANs. In order to understand the differences in AI/AN outcomes, protective factors buffering against negative outcomes need to be examined. Communal mastery, a relatively unexplored construct, has been posited as a potential protective factor for AI/AN people. The present study aimed to understand the relationship between communal mastery, risk factors specific to historical trauma and discrimination, and substance use. Moreover, we hoped to understand if communal mastery moderated the effects of historical loss and discrimination on substance use. Participants (N = 197) included tribal members from a Northern Plains reservation in recovery from substance use disorder or with the desire to change their substance use behavior. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression to understand if communal mastery is protective for substance use in the current AI sample. Contrary to my hypotheses, communal mastery did not moderate the relationship between culturally-specific risk factors (i.e. historical trauma and discrimination) and substance use. However, the present sample had high levels of communal mastery indicating that restriction of range may have affected the findings. Moreover, communal mastery may be protective at certain times in the recovery process but not when people are using substances. Also, historical loss was associated with greater levels of abstinence from substance use, contrary to predictions. Thus, future research should focus on the role of historical loss awareness in AI/AN recovery and investigate how communal mastery interacts with other risk factors to predict substance use outcomes in Indigenous populations.Item Native American women and AIDS-preventive behavior : a test of the information-motivation-behavioral skills model(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2000) Meeks, Dakota Dawn SyvrudItem Native American suicide deaths in Montana : 1989-1992(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1996) Sanddal, Nels DodgeItem Problematic eating and weight control behaviors among Native Americans : a meta-analytic review(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2006) Maertens, Julie Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Wesley LynchA ubiquitous clinical stereotype has conventionally associated eating pathology with White, upper-class girls and women. However, recent studies suggest that problem eating behavior and use of unhealthy weight control techniques span many ethnic and socioeconomic groups. High rates of obesity and non-insulin-dependent diabetes suggest that unhealthy eating behaviors may be a particularly serious problem among Native American youth and adults. This meta-analytic review of studies reporting the prevalence of specific eating practices among Native American participants reveals that on average, 18% of Native Americans report engaging in pathologic eating and weight control behaviors. Additionally, nearly half of Native Americans report body dissatisfaction, while 10% report chronic dieting, despite normal body mass index. Finally, compared to their White counterparts, Native Americans are significantly more likely to report body dissatisfaction, pathologic weight control methods, as well as binge eating. Study limitations and future considerations are discussed.