Cultural identity and mental health: lessons from older generations

It has been argued that identity is a pre-requisite for mental health for Indigenous people. Indeed, having a strong cultural identity has been identified as a protective mechanism for mental health. In order to maintain health and wellbeing, it is critical to understand the factors that impact upon cultural identity. Culture, like cultural identity, is a dynamic, ever-changing entity, with individuals within a culture absorbing and integrating new knowledge into the old. Within this transformative process, cultural identity reflects a sense of belonging or relationship with other members of the same culture. Knowing one's cultural identity provides the basis from which to explore and understand the world and facilitates meaning-making in one's life. Bearing this in mind, there are many lessons to be learned from the older generation in terms of developing and sustaining cultural identity. The current study explored factors that encompassed and impacted upon mental health and cultural identity in a group of urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A theme of connectedness emerged as reflecting a unique contribution to Indigenous mental health and cultural identity. The role of connectedness to country, family and kinship, knowledge and social support were highlighted. This information has implications both for developing and sustaining mental health and thus cultural identity of young Indigenous people, but also provides a basis for the development of culturally safe programs to positively impact upon the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people