Rumination and quality of life among Northern Plains Indians.

Therapeutic mechanisms targeting multiple mental health disorders are key for providing treatment services with high-disparity, low-resource populations. Rumination, a cognitive response style, is a well-recognized transdiagnostic factor across disorders in the general population (Arditte et al., 2016; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991). This study explored the influence of rumination, and mediational effect of mental health disorder, on Quality of Life among a sample of 585 Northern Plains Indian (NPI) women and men. Using secondary data from a Mood Disorder Assessment Validation study, parallel mediation path analyses indicated rumination did not have a direct influence on quality of life. However, rumination indicated higher anxiety (R² = .38, p < .001), depression (R² = .60, p < .001), and substance use symptoms (R² = .14, p < .001). As rumination increased, significant increases occurred in severity of symptoms reported for women and men for all diagnoses- but lower perceived quality of life occurred only in the presence of depressive symptoms (women, B = -28.19, p < .001; men, B = -20.15, p < .001). Significant differences arose between NPI women and men, with women reporting higher rumination, anxiety, and depression and men reporting higher substance use. Based on these results, rumination is useful as a transdiagnostic factor for NPIs, as rumination helped uncover maladaptive coping mechanisms among NPIs in the sample. In addition, quality of life assessments can help target maladaptive coping in treatment by taking a holistic view of well-being that accounts for risk factors while supporting traditional views of healing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

When psychologists take a stand: Barriers to trauma response services and advocacy for American Indian communities.

American Indians and other Indigenous groups face numerous traumas resulting from civil rights infractions. Often, these infractions began in historical contexts and continue into modern experiences. The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and subsequent activist response at Standing Rock are a prime example of how movements asserting human rights are met with resistance from dominant majority groups. Generally, this resistance turns violent as police and security responses from the dominant culture escalate despite the peaceful nature of demonstrations. This impacts mental health among oppressed populations. As #NoDAPL progressed, Indigenous psychologists felt moved to "Stand with Standing Rock" by supporting Water Protectors in need of trauma services. This was met with institutional and systemic barriers to treatment and lack of support from key professional organizations. This article addresses barriers faced by mental health professionals providing services on the frontlines and lists potential resolutions including the development of a crisis response team, infrastructure for communication with individuals onsite, culturally congruent healing, community-building, and prayer. The article serves as a case study for trauma provision among American Indian communities in crisis and is a reminder of the resilience and empowerment that occurs when Indigenous peoples from all over the world come together for a shared cause. This case study format can be a guiding example for service providers choosing to take a stand with marginalized communities asserting social change.

Wac'inyeya: Hope Among American Indian Youth.

This article examines what gives American Indian youth hope. The project included 56 rural tribal youth in focus groups across a Northern Plains reservation. The participants completed a Youth Personal Balance Tool to provide perspective on the balance according to a medicine wheel model of their lives. The focus groups asked questions from a strengths-based perspective about what gives them hope and how they could show others they were hopeful. The project culminated with the youth developing creative representations of hope and presenting these projects to family and community.