Yup'ik Understanding of Stress Within the Context of Rapid Cultural Change

Abstract

Alaska Native communities shoulder a disproportionately high burden of stress, stemming in part from historical trauma and rapid changes in culture and lifestyle. The Yup'ik Experiences of Stress and Coping Project originated from rural Yup'ik communities' concerns about stress and its effects. Understanding local conceptions of stress as grounded in the experiences and perceptions of the Yup'ik community participants is critical to inform culturally‐based interventions. Sixty adults in two Yup'ik communities in Southwest Alaska participated in semi‐structured interviews exploring their understanding and experience of stress and coping. Participants' understanding of stress included causes of stress, stressful experiences, responses to stress (emotions, physical responses, trouble in the mind), and broader family and community effects of stress. Many described current stressors as being quite different than those of the past. Findings highlight the intersection between traditional ways of thinking about stress and Western influences in remote Yup'ik communities undergoing cultural changes.

Cultural values, coping, and hope in Yup'ik communities facing rapid cultural change

“…Additional information regarding the community partnership, recruitment, interview, cointerpretation and dissemination protocols can be found in prior publications based on the study (Rivkin et al, 2011(Rivkin et al, , 2017. Additional information regarding the community partnership, recruitment, interview, cointerpretation and dissemination protocols can be found in prior publications based on the study (Rivkin et al, 2011(Rivkin et al, , 2017.…”

“…At the end of each of these six interview sections, participants were asked to describe a particularly important stressful experience they wanted to share and to discuss how the experience affected them (a prior report discussed the stressors experienced [Rivkin et al, 2017]). Participants then responded to closed-ended questions organized into six major categories of stressors: childhood, lifetime, and recent life events, ongoing problems, community stressors, and traumas.…”

“…Cultural identity is especially critical in Yup'ik communities, which have experienced significant cultural shifts, including changes in economy, subsistence activities, diet, and relationships between generations. Stress has changed across years and generations, and the stressors experienced in Yup'ik communities are quite different from those experienced in the past (Rivkin et al, 2017). Stress has changed across years and generations, and the stressors experienced in Yup'ik communities are quite different from those experienced in the past (Rivkin et al, 2017).…”

“…Yup'ik populations have experienced the historical trauma of colonization, including forced separation of children in boarding schools that ruptured transmission of cultural values and identity (Rivkin et al, 2017;Wolsko, Lardon, Hopkins, & Ruppert, 2006). Such experiences contribute to health disparities, including substance abuse, suicide, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (Bombay, Matheson, & Anisman, 2011;Gone & Trimble, 2012;Manson, Beals, Klein, & Croy, 2005).…”

“…Hope is also related to better problem solving and reduced suicidal ideation among Native Americans (O'Keefe, Tucker, Wingate, & Rasmussen, 2011;Yetter & Foutch, 2014). Rural Yup'ik communities facing cultural transition in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta Region of Southwest Alaska have voiced concern about stressful events, cultural gaps between the generations, and the impact this has on health (Rivkin et al, 2017;Wolsko et al, 2006). Rural Yup'ik communities facing cultural transition in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta Region of Southwest Alaska have voiced concern about stressful events, cultural gaps between the generations, and the impact this has on health (Rivkin et al, 2017;Wolsko et al, 2006).…”