The current paper reviews research that has explored the intergenerational effects of the Indian Residential School (IRS) system in Canada, in which Aboriginal children were forced to live at schools where various forms of neglect and abuse were common. Intergenerational IRS trauma continues to undermine the well-being of today’s Aboriginal population, and having a familial history of IRS attendance has also been linked with more frequent contemporary stressor experiences and relatively greater effects of stressors on well-being. It is also suggested that familial IRS attendance across several generations within a family appears to have cumulative effects. Together, these findings provide empirical support for the concept of historical trauma, which takes the perspective that the consequences of numerous and sustained attacks against a group may accumulate over generations and interact with proximal stressors to undermine collective well-being. As much as historical trauma might be linked to pathology, it is not possible to go back in time to assess how previous traumas endured by Aboriginal peoples might be related to subsequent responses to IRS trauma. Nonetheless, the currently available research demonstrating the intergenerational effects of IRSs provides support for the enduring negative consequences of these experiences and the role of historical trauma in contributing to present day disparities in well-being.

From 1863 to 1996, many Aboriginal children in Canada were forced to attend Indian Residential Schools (IRSs), where many experienced neglect, abuse, and the trauma of separation from their families and culture. The present study examined the intergenerational impact of IRS exposure on depressive symptomatology in a convenience sample of 143 First Nations adults. IRS experiences had adverse intergenerational effects in that First Nations adults who had a parent attend IRS (n = 67) reported greater depressive symptoms compared to individuals whose parents did not attend (n = 76). Parental IRS attendance moderated the relations between stressor experiences (adverse childhood experiences, adult traumas, and perceived discrimination) and depressive symptoms, such that second generation Survivors exhibited greater symptomatology. Adverse childhood experiences partially mediated the relation between parental IRS attendance and both adult trauma and perceived discrimination. Moreover, both of these adulthood stressors partially mediated the relation between adverse childhood experiences and depressive symptoms. Finally, all three stressors demonstrated a unique mediating role in the relation between parental IRS attendance and depressive symptoms. Although alternative directional paths could not be ruled out, offspring of IRS Survivors appeared at increased risk for depression, likely owing to greater sensitivity to and experiences of childhood adversity, adult traumas, and perceived discrimination.

The present investigation examined the relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms among First Nations adults in Canada (N = 220). It was considered that specific aspects of ethnic identity (in-group affect, centrality, in-group ties) could serve as resilience and/or vulnerability factors. Whereas in-group affect (positive feelings regarding one's group) was directly associated with decreased depressive symptoms and buffered against perceived discrimination, high levels of centrality (salience of group membership) was associated with increased symptomatology and intensified the relation between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms. In-group ties (connection to other group members) buffered against perceived discrimination, although this protective effect only applied for males. The data underscore the importance of examining different aspects of identity and gender differences in determining the role of ethnic identity in the well-being of minority populations.

As part of a government policy of assimilation beginning in the mid-1800s, a large proportion of Aboriginal children in Canada were forcibly removed from their homes to attend Indian Residential Schools (IRSs), a practice which continued into the 1990s. This traumatic experience had lasting negative effects not only on those who attended but also on their offspring, who were previously found to report higher levels of perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms compared with Aboriginal adults whose families were not directly affected by IRSs. In attempt to elucidate the processes involved in these previous findings, the current study (N = 399) revealed that greater levels of past perceptions of discrimination among IRS offspring, together with their greater likelihood of considering their Aboriginal heritage to be a central component of their self-concept (i.e., high identity centrality), were associated with an increased likelihood of appraising subsequent negative intergroup scenarios to be a result of discrimination and as threatening to their well-being. In turn, these altered appraisals of threat in response to the scenarios were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms relative to non-IRS adults. The apparent reinforcing relationships between past discrimination, identity centrality, and appraisals of discrimination and threat in intergroup interactions highlight the need for interventions targeting this cycle that appears to contribute to heightened psychological distress among offspring of those who were directly victimized by collective race-based traumas.

Idé ation et tentatives de suicide chez les peuples des Premiè re nations habitant dans des ré serves au Canada: les effets intergé né rationnels et cumulatifs des pensionnats indiens