The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian population have endured immense hardship since the colonization of Australia characterized by the loss of lands, language, leadership, and family that contributes to the health and social inequities experienced today. Culture plays a significant role in shaping the health and wellbeing of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, however the processes and mechanisms of cultural connection, how it builds strength and offers protection in times of hardship is less clear. This scoping review used the voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians from qualitative research papers to hear what cultural factors are protective and the ways they offer this. Quantitative research papers were then explored to understand if connection to culture lead to better health or social outcomes. Four aspects of culture were integrated into a conceptual model—cultural activities, country, connection, and identity. The eight quantitative papers assessed connection to culture poorly making it difficult to definitively determine if a strong cultural connection leads to better outcomes. Practice implications and future directions led by this conceptual model are provided.
AndersenC. (2019). Exploring Aboriginal identity in Australia and building resilience. In Klain-GabbayL (Ed.), EFF;Indigenous, aboriginal, fugitive and ethnic groups around the globe. IntechOpen.
2.
AtkinsonJ.NelsonJ.BrooksR.AtkinsonC.RyanK. (2014). Addressing individual and community transgenerational trauma. In DudgeonP.MilroyH.WalkerR. (Eds.), Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice. (pp. 289–307). Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
BarberJ. G.DelfabbroP. H.CooperL. (2000). Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in out-of-home care. Children Australia, 25(3), 5–10. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1035077200009743
BourkeS.WrightA.GuthrieJ.RussellL.DunbarT.LovettR. (2018). Evidence review of Indigenous culture for health and wellbeing. The International Journal of Health Wellness and Society, 8(4), 11–27. https://doi.org/10.18848/2156-8960/cgp/v08i04/11-27
9.
BrenerL.WilsonH.JacksonL. C.JohnsonP.SaundersV.TreloarC. (2015). The role of Aboriginal community attachment in promoting lifestyle changes after hepatitis C diagnosis. Health Psychology Open, 2(2), 2055102915601581. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102915601581
10.
ButlerT. L.AndersonK.GarveyG.CunninghamJ.RatcliffeJ.TongA.WhopL. J.CassA.DicksonM.HowardK. (2019). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s domains of wellbeing: A comprehensive literature review. Social Science & Medicine, 233, 138–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.06.004
11.
CassA. (2004). Health outcomes in Aboriginal populations. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 171(6), 597–598. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.1041059
12.
ColquhounS.DockeryA. M. (2012). The link between Indigenous culture and wellbeing: Qualitative evidence for Australian Aboriginal peoples (CLMR Discussion Paper Series, 2012/01). CLMR. http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/191786
13.
DockeryA. M. (2010). Culture and wellbeing: The case of Indigenous Australians. Social Indicators Research, 99(2), 315–332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-010-9582-y
14.
DockeryA. M. (2020). Inter-generational transmission of Indigenous culture and children’s wellbeing: Evidence from Australia. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 74, 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2019.11.001
15.
DuneT.StewartJ.TroncW.LeeV.MapedzahamaV.FirdausR.MekonnenT. (2018). Resilience in the face of adversity: Narratives from ageing Indigenous women in Australia. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 6, 63. https://doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v6i3.3025
16.
GazisN.ConnorJ. P.HoR. (2010). Cultural identity and peer influence as predictors of substance use among culturally diverse Australian adolescents. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 30(3), 345–368. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431609333276
17.
GeeG.DudgeonP.SchultzC.HartA.KellyK. (2014). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing. In DudgeonP.MilroyH.WalkerR. (Eds.), Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice (pp. 55–68). Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
18.
HarveyM. (2018). Woer Wayepa-the water is rising: A Torres Strait Islander approach to knowledge mobilisation, and Saibaian approach to cultural knowledge transference to performative storytelling. Studies, 73, 160. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/ielapa.146628555647362
19.
HaslamC.CruwysT.HaslamS. A.DingleG.ChangM. X. (2016). Groups 4 health: Evidence that a social-identity intervention that builds and strengthens social group membership improves mental health. Journal of Affective Disorders, 194, 188–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.01.010
20.
HaslamS. (2004). Psychology. SAGE.
21.
HongQ. N.PluyeP.FàbreguesS.BartlettG.BoardmanF.CargoM.O’CathainA. (2018). Mixed methods appraisal tool (MMAT), version 2018. IC Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
22.
HopkinsK. D.TaylorC. L.D’AntoineH.ZubrickS. R. (2012). Predictors of resilient psychosocial functioning in Western Australian Aboriginal young people exposed to high family-level risk. In UngarM (Ed.), The social ecology of resilience (pp. 425–440). Springer.
23.
HunterE.MilroyH. (2006). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide in context. Archives of Suicide Research, 10(2), 141–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811110600556889
24.
IsobelS.GoodyearM.FurnessT.FosterK. (2019). Preventing intergenerational trauma transmission: A critical interpretive synthesis. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28(7–8), 1100–1113. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14735
25.
JamiesonL. M.ParadiesY. C.GunthorpeW.CairneyS. J.SayersS. M. (2011). Oral health and social and emotional well-being in a birth cohort of Aboriginal Australian young adults. BMC Public Health, 11(1), 656. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-656
26.
JongenC.LanghamE.BainbridgeR.McCalmanJ. (2019). Instruments for measuring the resilience of Indigenous adolescents: An exploratory review. Frontiers in Public Health, 7, 194. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00194
27.
KellyK.DudgeonP.GeeG.GlaskinB. (2009). Living on the edge: Social and emotional wellbeing and risk and protective factors for serious psychological distress among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.
28.
Kickett-TuckerC. S. (2009). Moorn (Black)? Djardak (White)? How come I don’t fit in mum? Exploring the racial identity of Australian Aboriginal children and youth. Health Sociology Review, 18(1), 119–136. https://doi.org/10.5172/hesr.18.1.119
29.
KilcullenM.SwinbourneA.Cadet-JamesY. (2016). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and well-being: Implications for a cognitive behavioural therapy framework. Australian Psychologist, 51(6), 453–462. https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12159
30.
KrakouerJ.WiseS.ConnollyM. (2018). “We live and breathe through culture”: Conceptualising cultural connection for Indigenous Australian children in out-of-home care. Australian Social Work, 71(3), 265–276.
31.
LanghamE.McCalmanJ.Redman-MacLarenM.HunterE.WenitongM.BrittonA.RutherfordK.SaundersV.UngarM.BainbridgeR. (2018). Validation and factor analysis of the child and youth resilience measure for Indigenous Australian boarding school students. Frontiers in Public Health, 6(299). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00299
32.
LavarchM. (1995). Bringing them home: National inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission NSW.
33.
MastenA. S. (2018). Resilience theory and research on children and families: Past, present, and promise. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 10(1), 12–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12255
McIvorO.NapoleonA.DickieK. M. (2013). Language and culture as protective factors for at-risk communities. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 5(1), 6–25. https://doi.org/10.18357/ijih51200912327
36.
McMahonE.WycherleyT.O’DeaK.BrimblecombeJ. (2017). A comparison of dietary estimates from the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health survey to food and beverage purchase data. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 41(6), 598–603. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12718
37.
MengX.FleuryM.-J.XiangY.-T.LiM.D’ArcyC. (2018). Resilience and protective factors among people with a history of child maltreatment: A systematic review. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 53(5), 453–475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1485-2
38.
MenziesK. (2019). Understanding the Australian aEFF;boriginal experience of collective, historical and intergenerational trauma. International Social Work, 62(6), 1522–1534. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872819870585
39.
MeulenersL. B.LeeA. H.HendrieD.FraserM. (2010). A population study on Indigenous hospitalisations for interpersonal violence. Australian Health Review, 34(1), 123–126. https://doi.org/10.1071/ah09666
40.
MguniN.BaconN.BrownJ. F. (2012). The wellbeing and resilience paradox. The Young Foundation.
41.
National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Group. (1989). National Aboriginal health strategy. National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Group.
42.
PorochN.ArabenaK.TongsJ.LarkinS.FisherJ.HendersonG. (2009). Spirituality and Aboriginal people’s social and emotional wellbeing: A review. Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.
43.
PriestN.MackeanT.DavisE.BriggsL.WatersE. (2012). Aboriginal perspectives of child health and wellbeing in an urban setting: Developing a conceptual framework. Health Sociology Review, 21(2), 180–195. https://doi.org/10.5172/hesr.2012.21.2.180
44.
RadfordK.DelbaereK.DraperB.MackH. A.DaylightG.CummingR.ChalkleyS.MinogueC.BroeG. A. (2017). Childhood stress and adversity is associated with late-life dementia in Aboriginal Australians. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25(10), 1097–1106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2017.05.008
45.
RanzijnR.NolanW.McNicholasS. (2009). Psychology and Indigenous Australians: Foundations of cultural competence. Palgrave Macmillan.
46.
RaphaelB.SwanP.MartinekN. (1998). Intergenerational aspects of trauma for Australian Aboriginal people. In DanieliY. (Ed.), International handbook of multigenerational legacies of trauma (pp. 327–339). Springer US.
47.
Redman-MacLarenM. L.KlieveH.MccalmanJ.RussoS.RutherfordK.WenitongM.BainbridgeR. G. (2017). Measuring resilience and risk factors for the psychosocial well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarding school students: Pilot baseline study results. Frontiers in Education, 2(5). https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2017.00005
RidgesM.KellyM.SimpsonG.LeysJ.BoothS.FriedelM.CountryN. (2020). Understanding how Aboriginal culture can contribute to the resilient future of rangelands – The importance of Aboriginal core values. The Rangeland Journal, 42(5), 247–251. https://doi.org/10.1071/rj20031
50.
SamJ.GhoshH.RichardsonC. G. (2015). Examining the relationship between attachment styles and resilience levels among Aboriginal adolescents in Canada. Alternative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 11(3), 240–255. https://doi.org/10.1177/117718011501100303
51.
ShepherdS. M.DelgadoR. H.SherwoodJ.ParadiesY. (2017). The impact of Indigenous cultural identity and cultural engagement on violent offending. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4603-2
52.
SmylieJ.OldingM.ZieglerC. (2014). Sharing what we know about living a good life: Indigenous approaches to knowledge translation. The Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association, 35, 16–23. https://doi.org/10.5596/c14-009
Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision. (2018). Report on government services. Canberra.
55.
TaylorE. V.LalovicA.ThompsonS. C. (2019). Beyond enrolments: A systematic review exploring the factors affecting the retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health students in the tertiary education system. International Journal for Equity in Health, 18(1), 136. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-1038-7
56.
TennenhouseL. G.LeslieW. D.LixL. M. (2017). Health-related quality of life for First Nations and Caucasian women in the First Nations bone health study. BMC Research Notes, 10(1), 755. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-017-3081-z
57.
ThomasA.CairneyS.GunthorpeW.ParadiesY.SayersS. (2010). Strong souls: Development and validation of a culturally appropriate tool for assessment of social and emotional well-being in Indigenous youth. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 44(1), 40–48. https://doi.org/10.3109/00048670903393589
58.
ThomasJ.HardenA. (2008). Methods for the thematic synthesis of qualitative research in systematic reviews. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 8(1), 45. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-8-45
Van DickR.KetturatC.HäusserJ. A.MojzischA. (2017). Two sides of the same coin and two routes for improvement: Integrating resilience and the social identity approach to well-being and ill-health. Health Psychology Open, 4(2), 2055102917719564. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102917719564
62.
WaterworthP.PescudM.BrahamR.DimmockJ.RosenbergM. (2015). Factors influencing the health behaviour of Indigenous Australians: Perspectives from support people. PLoS One, 10(11), e0142323. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0142323
YoungC.TongA.NixonJ.FernandoP.KalucyD.SherriffS.ClaphamK.CraigJ. C.WilliamsonA. (2017). Perspectives on childhood resilience among the Aboriginal community: An interview study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 41(4), 405–410. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12681
65.
ZubrickS. R.ShepherdC. C.DudgeonP.GeeG.ParadiesY.ScrineC.WalkerR. (2014). Social determinants of social and emotional wellbeing. In DudgeonP.MilroyH.WalkerR. (Eds.), Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice (Vol. 2, pp. 93–112). Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
