Remembering together: The relationships of historical loss, social support, depression, and resilience

Colonization, genocide, boarding schools, and relocation programs have created complex psychological issues for Native American people. Although these events are rooted in the past, the resulting political, social, and economic situations continue to play a role in influencing the mental health of Native Americans. There are considerations to be given to social support as a protective factor that provides resiliency for Native Americans. Historical trauma (as measured by the Historical Loss Scale, HLS), social support (as measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, MSPSS), depression (as measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CES-D) and resilience (as measured by the Positive Affect factor of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CES-D) were investigated to determine their relationships. Hierarchical multiple regressions were used to examine historical loss and social support as predictors of depressive symptoms and resilience. The participants were 160 Native American older adults and elderly from a Northern Plains Reservation in the United States. The results indicated that participants think about historical losses frequently, feel socially supported, are generally not depressed, and are feeling positive frequently. The data also revealed the relationship between Historical Loss and depression to be approaching significance, suggesting that with more power, a significant relationship could be found. When examining depression as an outcome of historical loss and social support, only MSPSS predicted CES-D scores, F(6,109) = 5.09, p < .001, adjusted R2 = .18. When examining positive affect as an outcome of historical loss and social support, only MSPSS scores predicted positive affect scores, F(3,119) = 3.26, p < .05, adjusted R2 = .16. Social support emerged as a protective factor against depression and as a source of resilience. Although the data did not show a relationship between historical loss and social support, the data ...