Dan R. Hoyt

Conceptualizing and Measuring Historical Trauma Among American Indian People

This article reports on the development of two measures relating to historical trauma among American Indian people: The Historical Loss Scale and The Historical Loss Associated Symptoms Scale. Measurement characteristics including frequencies, internal reliability, and confirmatory factor analyses were calculated based on 143 American Indian adult parents of children aged 10 through 12 years who are part of an ongoing longitudinal study of American Indian families in the upper Midwest. Results indicate both scales have high internal reliability. Frequencies indicate that the current generation of American Indian adults have frequent thoughts pertaining to historical losses and that they associate these losses with negative feelings. Two factors of the Historical Loss Associated Symptoms Scale indicate one anxiety/depression component and one anger/avoidance component. The results are discussed in terms of future research and theory pertaining to historical trauma among American Indian people.

Psychological distress and help seeking in rural America.

The implications of exposure to acute and chronic stressors, and seeking mental health care, for increased psychological distress are examined. Research on economic stress, psychological distress, and rural agrarian values each point to increasing variability within rural areas. Using data from a panel study of 1,487 adults, a model predicting changes in depressive symptoms was specified and tested. Results show effects by size of place for men but not for women. Men living in rural villages of under 2,500 or in small towns of 2,500 to 9,999 people had significantly greater increases in depressive symptoms than men living in the country or in larger towns or cities. Size of place was also related to level of stigma toward mental health care. Persons living in the most rural environments were more likely to hold stigmatized attitudes toward mental health care and these views were strongly predictive of willingness to seek care. The combination of increased risk and less willingness to seek assistance places men living in small towns and villages in particular jeopardy for continuing problems involving depressed mood.

Perceived discrimination and early substance abuse among American Indian children.

This study investigated internalizing and externalizing symptoms as potential mediators of the relationship between perceived discrimination and early substance abuse among 195 American Indian 5 through 8 graders from three reservations that share a common culture (e.g., language, spiritual beliefs, and traditional practices) in the upper Midwest. The findings indicated that, although perceived discrimination contributed significantly to internalizing symptoms among the adolescents, internalizing symptoms were unrelated to early substance abuse. Rather, the effects of perceived discrimination on early substance abuse were mediated by adolescent anger and delinquent behaviors. The results are discussed in terms of the consequences of perceived discrimination on the development of American Indian early adolescents.

Mental disorder, subsistence strategies, and victimization among gay, lesbian, and bisexual homeless and runaway adolescents

This study compares participation in deviant subsistence strategies, street victimization, and lifetime prevalence of five mental disorders (conduct disorder, major depressive disorder, post‐traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse) among heterosexual males and females (n = 366) and gay, lesbian, and bisexual (n = 63) homeless and runaway adolescents from the first wave of a longitudinal study of homeless youth in four Midwestern states. The results indicate that gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents were more likely to have been physically and sexually abused by caretakers, were more likely to engage in risky survival strategies when on their own (including survival sex), were more likely to be physically and sexually victimized when on the streets, and were more likely to meet criteria for mental disorder than were their heterosexual counterparts.

Perceived Discrimination, Traditional Practices, and Depressive Symptoms among American Indians in the Upper Midwest*

American Indian adults are thought to experience significant depressive symptoms at rates several times higher than adults in the general population, yet we know very little about factors associated with depressive symptoms among this under studied group. Many researchers have argued that depressive symptoms are associated with conflicts between American Indian traditional cultural values, practices, and beliefs and those of the majority culture. This report, based on a sample 287 American Indian adults from the upper Midwest, takes into account two measures of cultural effects: perceived discrimination, as one indicator of culture conflict, and traditional practices, as a measure of cultural identification. The results indicate that discrimination is strongly associated with depressive symptoms among American Indian adults and that engaging in traditional practices is negatively related to depressive symptoms. Moreover, interaction effects between perceived discrimination and traditional practices indicate that engaging in traditional practices buffers the negative effects of discrimination among those who regularly participate in them.

Early adolescent sexual activity: a developmental study.

This developmental study uses event history analysis to investigate the effects of established predictors of early coitus on a sample of 457 rural European American adolescents who experienced sexual intercourse for the first time in the 8th 9th or 10th grade. Analyses were run for separate variables to isolate change in individual predictors across time when controlling only for the effects of family structure pubertal development and gender. The significant main effects for early intercourse and interactions with gender and grade level were then entered into a final model to assess the relative strength of each predictor when controlling for other significant factors. Results indicate a significant decrease in the effect of mother monitoring by the 10th grade. Depressed affect increased the likelihood of early intercourse among young women but not young men. Results for the full model suggest that when controlling for all other influences the primary predictors of early intercourse were age opportunity (being in steady relationship) sexually permissive attitudes association with delinquent peers and alcohol use.

A risk-amplification model of victimization and depressive symptoms among runaway and homeless adolescents

This report is an examination of a theoretical model of risk amplification within a sample of 255 homeless and runaway adolescents. The young people were interviewed on the streets and in shelters in urban centers of four Midwestern states. Separate models were examined for males (n = 102) and females (n = 153). Results indicated that street experiences such as affiliation with deviant peers, deviant subsistence strategies, risky sexual behaviors, and drug and/or alcohol use amplified the effects of early family abuse on victimization and depressive symptoms for young women. These street adaptations significantly increased the likelihood of serious victimization over and above the effects of early family history for both young men and women. Similarly, street behaviors and experiences increased the likelihood of depressive symptoms for young women over the effects of early family abuse, but not for young men. The risk-amplification model from the life course theoretical perspective is discussed as an example of the cumulative continuity of maladaptive behaviors.

The Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Later Sexual Victimization among Runaway Youth

Path analysis was used to investigate the impact of childhood sexual abuse on later sexual victimization among 372 homeless and runaway youth in Seattle. Young people were interviewed directly on the streets and in shelters by outreach workers in youth service agencies. High rates of both childhood sexual abuse and street sexual victimization were reported, with females experiencing much greater rates compared with their male counterparts. Early sexual abuse in the home increased the likelihood of later sexual victimization on the streets indirectly by increasing the amount of time at risk, deviant peer affiliations, participating in deviant subsistence strategies, and engaging in survival sex. These findings suggest that exposure to dysfunctional and disorganized homes place youth on trajectories for early independence. Subsequently, street life and participation in high-risk behaviors increases their probability of sexual victimization.

Depressive Symptoms and Co-occurring Depressive Symptoms, Substance Abuse, and Conduct Problems among Runaway and Homeless Adolescents.

This study examines factors that contribute to depressive symptoms and to co-occurring depression, substance abuse, and conduct problems among 602 runaway and homeless adolescents. The respondents were interviewed in shelters, drop-in centers, and directly on the streets in four Midwestern states (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas). Results indicate that although family-of-origin factors contribute to depressive symptoms and comorbidity among runaway and homeless adolescents, experiences and behaviors when the adolescents are on their own also have powerful effects. The authors discuss the findings from a life-course perspective focusing on mechanisms through which street experiences accentuate or amplify already high levels of psychological distress and behavioral problems among this population of young people.

The Effects of Early Sexual Abuse on Later Sexual Victimization Among Female Homeless and Runaway Adolescents

Based on risk amplification and victimization theories, path analysis was used to investigate the effects of early sexual abuse on later sexual victimization among 361 female homeless and runaway adolescents in four midwestern states. Results indicated that early sexual abuse in the home had a positive direct effect on sexual victimization of adolescents on the streets. Early sexual abuse also increased the likelihood of later sexual victimization indirectly by increasing the amount of time at risk, deviant peer associations, and incidents of survival sex. Young women who leave dysfunctional and disorganized homes often characterized by abuse continue on negative developmental trajectories once they reach the streets. The social context of street life puts these adolescents in close proximity to potential offenders and exposes them to crime and criminals. The combination of a negative developmental trajectory and the high-risk street environment increases these young womens chances of being sexually victimized.