From nomadic to static : issues of acculturation and resilience among First Nations youths

The notions of risk, resilience, and acculturation were examined among a group of First Nations adolescents from a community in Northern Quebec. These adolescents are at high-risk for emotional and behavioural problems due to both their minority status and the remoteness of their locale. Accordingly, the research on risk and resilience in innercity youths was adapted to study this unique group of First Nations youths. The aims of the study were relevant to issues of adolescent wellness. The first aim was to identify the factors that help protect against the maladaptive outcomes associated with minority group status and living in a remote area. The protective factors included intelligence, ego development, and attachment. The second aim was to examine subtypes of acculturation and the differences between acculturation subtypes among these youths. The acculturation strategy of integration was expected to result in the best adaptation whereas that of marginalization was expected to lead to difficulties across the domains of social competence. The third aim was to examine competence over time, as problems in one domain tend to be related to later problems in other domains. A series of paper and pencil questionnaires were completed in classroom settings by 67 adolescents aged 11 to 19 years and their teachers. Specific patterns of resilience across domains of functioning were found. High levels of intelligence protected against diminished school performance but not against depressive symptomatology. Strong attachment relationships protected against depression and poor school performance. Acculturative strategy also protected against negative outcomes despite high stress living situation. However, positive outcome was not uniform across all domains of social competence, which is consistent with the notion of domain specificity of resilience. Not one individual who participated in this study, despite the benefit of protective factors, showed high levels of social competence across all domains. This argues for the inherent risk of living in a high stress neighbourhood. The information is relevant to furthering our understanding of First Nations youths and their families, and advances the literatures on risk and resilience in its application to a relatively unique community