History of Cultural Disadvantage Impact on Mental Health of Indigenous Australians - Coursework Example

How the History of Cultural Disadvantage Impacts on the Mental Health of Indigenous Australians Name: Grade Course: Tutor’s Name: 1st October, 2010 Abstract Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders were the original owners of the land of Australia before the invasion and colonization by the British which began in 1788 (Dockery 2009). These people have had a lot of problems one of them being health problems. Colonization effects is said to be one of the factors that has contributed to their current state of health problems especially in mental health (Chenhall & Senior 2009, Van Holst Pellekaan & Clague 2005 and Dockery 2009). This paper investigates how cultural disadvantage history impacts on the mental health of this group of people. Because of colonization, indigenous Australian culture was interfered with and considered minor to the western culture making the western culture the dominant one in Australia. Because of that, the British tried to change the life style of indigenous Australians. The paper investigates its aim by focusing on the literature on history of cultural disadvantage, what it led to and how it affects the mental health of indigenous Australians. Results show that colonization effects are the major contributors to high mental problem rates among indigenous Australians. Introduction Groups of people with health problems are always of concern to the society, government or even health care teams. This is because for a specific type of health care condition to be at high rates in that specific community or group compared to others, there has to be a unique or unique factors that contribute to such difference/differences. This is the case of Indigenous Australians. A lot of research has been conducted and all reveal higher rates of mental health problems among indigenous Australians as compared to non-indigenous Australians as well as the world. Laughame indicates that according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the health of Aboriginals is at a bad state compared to non-indigenous Australians considering the life expectancy, child mortality, hospitalization rates and so on. The information shows that Aboriginals are 15 times at risk of dying from infectious disease than non-indigenous Australians, Aboriginal babies are 3-4 times at risk of dying at birth, aboriginals have higher rates of diabetes, heart disease and respiratory diseases and have higher rates of mental problems. The mental problems described as Aboriginals suffering from are; depression, substance misuse, self harm, suicide (1999). The main focus of Aboriginal problems in this paper is mental health and so other health problems will not be discussed. The data about mental health problems is confirmed by the SFNSW (2010), Hart et al (2009) and Chenhall & Senior (2009) that includes Torres Strait Islander people in the problems of mental health. Chenhall & Senior indicate that hospitalization of indigenous people due to mental health problems is 2-1.5 times more than non-indigenous Australians (2009). These high rates of mental problems have to have a cause and there has to be some factor also leading to the causes of such high rates of mental problems. According to Chenhall & Senior (2009), there are two approaches that researchers have taken towards studying mental health among indigenous Australians, one is the study of mental health problems specific to a particular group of people of particular culture and the other is the study of mental health problems considering factors such as; loss of family, poverty, loss of land and other colonization related effects, as the cause of such disorders and problems (Chenhall & Senior 2009). In this paper, one suspected factor that influences the causes of high mental rates among indigenous Australians is the history of cultural disadvantage of indigenous Australians. The History of Cultural Disadvantage of the Indigenous Australians Disadvantage is a theme used by researchers to explain the difference or the gap between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian life chances (Coram 2008). In this case therefore, cultural disadvantage are the disadvantages that the indigenous Australians face due to their cultural difference. Aboriginal people are the original settlers of Australian land before the invasion by the British in 1788 (Dockery 2009). They had a hunter and gatherer culture and practiced their customs until the 1788 British arrival which saw the dominance of the western culture over their culture. These came with a different life style, with legal, economic and social institutions, with an economic market and with policies towards the indigenous Australians (Dockery 2009). Their settlement led to killing of many indigenous Australians and disruption of the life of indigenous Australian survivors. The European settlers forced indigenous Australians out of their lands and homes, forced them from their natural life style, denied them the right to express themselves culturally in the name of assimilation, forced them to settle in different places, forced independence into them and even forcefully removed their children from their parents and homes (SFNSW 2010). According to the SFNSW (2010), Hart and other researchers (2009), Dockery (2009), Coram (2008), and even other literature, these people were spiritually and culturally linked to their homes and lands and removal from their lands caused them a lot of distress. This is one of the factors of stress among the indigenous Australians. Because of the above actions, indigenous Australians suffered a great loss, got confused and displaced. This has affected their health in that it has increased the probability of an indigenous Australian experiencing mental health problem. SFNSW indicated that until today, many indigenous Australians are affected by their childhood history which is among the following; separation from parents, displacement from homes and lands, institutionalization or even neglect or which according to the information provided contribute to the increase in the probability of one suffering from mental health problems (2010). Although little research has been conducted showing the relationship between being an indigenous Australian and having mental illness, available literature shows that historical events, which has also contributed to the current state of indigenous Australians, and the current state of life of the indigenous Australians have worn out their well being (SFNSW (2010) & Dockery (2009). As revealed by research, these people are twice as much at risk of suffering from a range of stress than non-indigenous people which also affects their capability to cope with different situations in life (SFNSW 2010). Current disadvantages faced by Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians have several disadvantages which are economic and social. These include: Lower educational attainment which is also evident in Chenhall & Senior’s research on indigenous youth mental health where only a few, in fact according to the research, in a River Town, only four students managed to complete 12 years education in the last four years (2009) Lower income which according to the NSW Department of Health (2003) as indicated by (SFNSW, is lower than non-indigenous Australians by $ 76 (2010) High unemployment rates of about 20% compared to that of non-indigenous which is at 7% Inadequate and crowded housing High rates of crime evidenced by high number of indigenous Australian prisoners (70% in Northern Territory and 21% of total prisoner population) which is 16 times higher than that of non-indigenous Australians Six times likelihood of children being removed from families (SFNSW 2010) Disadvantages in Health Higher rates of suicide, depression and self harm High rates of substance misuse and mental disorders Low level of life expectancy as low as 20 years High mortality rates (3-4 higher than non-indigenous) High infant mortality rates Inadequate access to mental health treatment workers and institutions (SFNSW 2010) How the History of Cultural Disadvantage Impacts on the Mental Health of Indigenous Australians Cultural disadvantages led to the life style that the indigenous Australians have currently and this life style increases chances of one getting mental health problems as well as contributes to the high rates of mental health problems. The Schizophrenia Fellowship of NSW indicates that child removals, infant mortality rates, earlier death rates and incarceration contribute to the high rates of mental problems that the indigenous people have like grief, trauma and loss. These factors are associated with colonization effects as a contributing factor to their existence among the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders (2010). Chenhall & Senior also noted that the youth of indigenous Australians engage a lot in substance misuse because of lack of guidance from parents and confusion due to pressure from western culture influence and what is required of them by their culture (2009). This is all due to colonization effects such as loss of land, destruction of land and poverty which led to colonization associated grief, forced separation, intergenerational loss and institutionalization that have been found to be anxiety provoking stressors (Chenhall & Senior 2009 ). One of the factors that contribute to the higher rates of mental health problems is lack of access to mental health treatments. This is contributed to by their stay in rural areas with few health care facilities located at far distances from their homes (Hart et al 2009). Additionally, the people fear going to the hospital for fear of being taken away from home as done in previous times. This increases the rates of mental health problems existence among indigenous Australians (Chenhall & Senior 2009). Conclusion From available literature about indigenous Australians mental health, it is clear that the effects of colonization have a major contribution to their mental health status. The effects are the major cause of stressors that eventually lead to mental health problems. Effects identified as contributors to mental health problems are such as poverty, removal from home and land, separation from families and institutionalization. These effects have also contributed to the social and economic status of the indigenous Australians which in turn indirectly affect the mental health status of the people. A history of cultural disadvantage therefore increases the risk of indigenous people having mental health problems. It contributes to high chances of getting mental problems. References Chenhall, R and Senior, K, 2009, Those Young People All Crankybella” Indigenous Youth Mental Health and Globalization, International Journal of Mental Health, 38, (3), Pp. 28–43. Coram, S, 2008, ‘Mainstreaming’ Indigenous Inequality As Disadvantage and the Silencing Of ‘Race’ In Australian Social, Educational And Vocational Training Policy, ACRAWSA e-Journal, 4(1), Pp. 1-13. Dockery, A, M, 2009, Culture and Wellbeing: The case of Indigenous Australians, The Center for Labour Market Research (CLMR) Discussion Paper Series 09/01. Hart, L, M, Jorm, A, F, Kanowski, L,G, Kelly, C, M and Langlands, R, L, 2009, Mental Health First Aid for Indigenous Australians: Using Delphi Consensus Studies to Develop Guidelines for Culturally Appropriate Responses to Mental Health Problems, MC Psychiatry, 9 (47). Laughame, J, 1999, Poverty and mental health in Aboriginal Australia, Psychiatric Bulletin, 23, Pp. 364-366. Schizophrenia Fellowship of NSW (SFNSW), 2010, Indigenous: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, Viewed on 1st October, 2010: < http://www.sfnsw.org.au/Quality-of-Life/QoL-Indigenous/default.aspx> Van Holst Pellekaan, S, M and Clague, L, 2005, Toward Health and Wellbeing for Indigenous Australians, Post Graduate Medical Journal 81, Pp. 618-624. Read More