Examining Indigenous Identity as a Protective Factor in Mental Well-Being Research in the United States: A Scoping Review

William Oyenque Carson (), Caleigh Curley, Renée Goldtooth-Halwood, Deborah Jean McClelland, Stephanie Russo Carroll, Nicole P. Yuan, Scott Carvajal and Felina M. Cordova-Marks
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William Oyenque Carson: Lands of the O’odham and Yaqui Peoples, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Caleigh Curley: Lands of the O’odham and Yaqui Peoples, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Renée Goldtooth-Halwood: Lands of the O’odham and Yaqui Peoples, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Deborah Jean McClelland: Lands of the O’odham and Yaqui Peoples, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Stephanie Russo Carroll: Lands of the O’odham and Yaqui Peoples, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Nicole P. Yuan: Lands of the O’odham and Yaqui Peoples, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Scott Carvajal: Lands of the O’odham and Yaqui Peoples, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Felina M. Cordova-Marks: Lands of the O’odham and Yaqui Peoples, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: Due to historical and ongoing structural racism and settler colonialism, Indigenous Peoples and communities in the United States are at a higher risk for a variety of diseases, elevated stress, and negative mental health outcomes. In addition, the United States federal government and the public encourage a view that Indigenous Peoples are primarily a racial group. Federally-, state-, and un-recognized Indigenous Peoples have a collective right to self-determination and sovereignty, and individuals of these Peoples understand this. The goals of this scoping review were to examine what research on identity and mental well-being is currently being conducted with Indigenous populations in the United States, synthesize the results, and determine if researchers are utilizing toolsets and theories that reinforce the sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples, communities, and the individual. The scoping review followed guidelines from the Joanna Briggs Institute guide for Scoping Reviews and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Four databases and over six thousand articles were searched for this review, with twenty-four that had data extracted and analyzed. Current research on the relationship between Indigenous identity and mental well-being shows mixed results. The findings of this scoping review highlight a need for Indigenous-specific tools for measuring identity in place of tools used for other ethnic and racial groups. More research must be conducted to create tools that specifically examine the phenomena of United States-based Indigenous identity.

Keywords: Indigenous identity; blood quantum; mental well-being; sovereignty; self-determination; American Indian/Alaska Native; Indigenous theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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