Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health: paradise lost?

Violence risk assessment in Australian Aboriginal offender populations: A review of the literature.

“…A plethora of research attributes the current underprivileged position of many Aboriginal Australians to extensive transgenerational marginalization and trauma (Atkinson, Nelson, Brooks, Atkinson, & Ryan, 2014; Homel et al, 1999; Krieg, 2009; Lincoln et al, 1997; Raphael & Swan, 1997). Prior investigations have underscored the higher rates of substance misuse (AIHW, 2011a; Indig et al, 2010; Queensland Government, 2009), psychological distress (ABS, 2010; Heffernan et al, 2012; Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory, 2012), exposure to traumatic events (Nadew, 2012; see Stanley et al, 2003), physical health problems (ABS, 2009; Burns & Thomson, 2008; DiGiacomo et al, 2013; Parker, 2010; Parker, Balaratnasingam, Roy, Huntley, & Mageean, 2014), and contact with child protection agencies (Australian Institute of Family Studies [AIFS], 2013; Stanley et al, 2003) of Aboriginal Australians compared with non-Aboriginal Australians. In addition, an unacceptable number of Aboriginal people over the past few decades have died in police custody, a crisis which was subject to a Royal Commission in the early 1990s (Johnston, 1991).…”

“…Given the history of disenfranchisement and overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in Australia’s criminal justice system for violence related offenses, it is important that violence risk assessment instruments are validated as culturally appropriate for use with Aboriginal offenders to avert further inequity. The development of culturally relevant assessments potentially enables a consideration of the effects of historical and ongoing injustices on the contemporary wellbeing of Indigenous clients, thus engendering increased access to services and appropriate interventions for Aboriginal people (Parker, 2010).…”

Changing the acculturation conversation: indigenous cultural reclamation in Australiaand Aotearoa/New Zealand

“…A subsequent series of Government (State and Federal) Acts reinforced this notion to such an extent that it has led to significant disadvantage for 8 Indigenous peoples (Armitage, 1995;Dudgeon, et al, 2011;Parker & Milroy, 2014;Zubrick, Holland, Kelly, Calma & Walker, 2014). Widespread resistance emerged as Indigenous leaders fought to protect their lands, culture and communities.…”

“…At the collective level, it is the loss of cultural identity, language, the sacred ruwi (land), traditions, values, familial ties as well as communal cohesion. At the individual level, experiences of acculturative stress, identity confusion, racist incidents, poor health, decreased wellbeing, and over representation in the criminal justice system are all reported (see for example, Baxter, Kingi, Tapsell, Durie, & McGee, 2006;Berry, 1970;Bodkin-Andrews, Ha, Craven, & Yeung, 2010;Cawte, Biancki, & Kiloh, 1968;Dudgeon, Wright et al, 2014;Gracey, 2000;Kvernmo, 2006;O'dea, Patel, Kubisch, Hopper, & Traiandes, 1993;Parker & Milroy, 2014;Shannon, 2002;Snowball & Weatherburn, 2006). As Berry (1992;2013) proposes, acculturation, when occurring involuntarily and in an unsupportive environment, is unlikely to result in positive outcomes.…”

Against the use of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 2–15 years

“…It is known that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children experience disproportionately poorer mental health outcomes that are uniquely driven by ongoing and intergenerational trauma related to colonisation, dispossession and racism ( Priest et al, 2011 ; Sherwood, 2013 ; Zubrick et al, 2006 ). The expression of mental health difficulties and what constitutes problematic behaviour also vary considerably between and among Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures ( Parker and Milroy, 2017 ). Assessing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child mental health therefore requires cross-culturally valid measures that either account for other interrelated domains of SEWB or that can be used as part of a broader SEWB assessment.…”