stress & trauma
We study personal and collective experiences of stress and trauma and their links with well-being across the lifespan and generations
Indigenous peoples in Canada and other similar colonial countries experience more stress and trauma compared to non-Indigenous people. Stress and trauma include but are not limited to food insecurity, abuse and violence, and interpersonal and systemic racism. Some of our research has focused on various types of trauma and stress faced by Indigenous peoples and assesses how these experiences are associated with health and social outcomes. The high rates of adversity in today’s Indigenous population are associated with the various collectively experienced traumatic experiences faced by Indigenous communities over generations since before Canada became a nation. Our research explores how the stress and trauma faced by today’s Indigenous population are linked with past government policies such as the residential school system and the child welfare system during and after the Sixties Scoop. For example, our analyses of national and regional data collected from Indigenous peoples have revealed that those with a parent or grandparent who attended residential school are at an increased risk for experiencing stress and trauma in their own lives, which in turn contributes to susceptibility to various negative health and social outcomes.
Despite the stress and trauma experienced, Indigenous peoples continue to demonstrate their strength and resilience in various ways. To find out how various aspects of cultural identity and engagement can buffer against the negative effects of adversity and promote wellness, please click here.
To find out how our research is beginning to assess how biological factors might be involved in the transmission of effects of residential schools or the child welfare system across generations, please click here.
To find out how the consequences of numerous harmful past and ongoing aspects of settler colonialism in Canada are contributing to health and social inequities relative to the non-Indigenous population in Canada, please click here.
To find out how we are examining the current landscape of Indigenous education curriculums in Canada and exploring best practices for educators and academics conducting Indigenous health research please click here.
Artwork by Shandra Spears Bombay
Multimedia
PRESENTATION: Historical Trauma Among Indigenous Peoples: Implications for Improving Well-Being - Schulich Law
PRESENTATION: Mental Illness Stigma Symposium: Amy Bombay - Carleton University
PRESENTATION: Amy Bombay - The Association between Intergenerational Trauma and Early Onset Suicidal Ideation and Attempts - UQAM-CRISE
PRESENTATION: Amy Bombay - The long-term effects of Indian Residential Schools: Exploring the ... (NAMHR 2014) - Transcultural Psychiatry
PRESENTATION: Amy Bombay - The long-term effects of Indian Residential Schools: Exploring the contribution of student-to-student abuse
RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Dr. Amy Bombay - First Peoples First Person Indigenous hub
RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Quand les traumatismes se transmettent par les gènes | Découverte
Recent Publications
about stress & trauma
2022
Paul, J., McQuaid, R.J., Hopkins, C., Perri, A., Stewart, S., Matheson, K., Anisman, A., Bombay, A. (2022). Relations between bullying and distress among youth living in First Nations communities: Assessing direct and moderating effects of culture-related variables. Transcultural Psychiatry, 61(3):429-439.
2022
Hahmann, T., Perri, A., Masoud, H., & Bombay, A. (2022). Parent and/or Grandparent Attendance at Residential School and Dimensions of Cultural Identity and Engagement: Associations with Mental Health and Substance Use among First Nations Adults Living off Reserve. Society and Mental Health.
2022
McQuaid, R. J., Schwartz, F. D., Blackstock, C., Matheson, K., Anisman, H., & Bombay, A. (2022). Parent-Child Separations and Mental Health among First Nations and Métis Peoples in Canada: Links to Intergenerational Residential School Attendance. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(11), 6877.
2020
Bombay, A., McQuaid, R. J., Young, J., Sinha, V., Currie, V., Anisman, H., & Matheson, K. (2020). Familial Attendance at Indian Residential School and Subsequent Involvement in the Child Welfare System Among Indigenous Adults Born During the Sixties Scoop Era. First Peoples Child & Family Review, 15(1), 62-79.
2019
Matheson, K., Bombay, A., Dixon, K., & Anisman, H. (2019). Intergenerational communication regarding Indian Residential Schools: Implications for cultural identity, perceived discrimination, and depressive symptoms. Transcultural Psychiatry.