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Mental Health in Indigenous Children and Adolescents: The Contribution of Cultural Backgroud

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe and compare the prevalence of mental health problems in Aymara and non-Aymara children and adolescent. The study sample comprised 1839 students from 8 to 19 years, from educational institutions of Northern Chile. Forty-nine percent of students identified with the Aymara ethnic group. The Child and Adolescent Evaluation System was used to evaluate internal and external problems. In Elementary school, Aymara students showed significantly lower scores in externalized problems and in high school, there were significantly lower scores in interiorized, exteriorized and other problems than Non-Aymara students. It seems that the legacy of the Aymara culture has favored the development of protective factors in relation to the mental health of these students. In a context of growing recognition and appreciation of this culture, greater involvement with Aymara culture could promote better mental health of school children.

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Funding

This work was supported by ANID PIA CIE160007.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Alta Investigación, Universidad de Tarapacá, Calle Antofagasta 1520, Arica, Chile

    Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar

  2. Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de la Frontera, Temuco, Chile

    Patricio Mena-Chamorro

  3. Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile

    Alfonso Urzúa

  4. Facultad de Educación y Humanidades, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile

    Wilson Muñoz-Henríquez

  5. Laboratory of Social Anthropology (LAS), Collège de France, Paris, France

    Wilson Muñoz-Henríquez

  6. Centro de Justicia Educacional CJE, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Jerome Flores

  7. Escuela de Psicología y Filosofía, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile

    Jerome Flores

  8. Escuela de Psicología & Centro de Justicia Educacional CJE, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Marigen Narea

  9. Departamento de Psiquiatría, Facultad de Medicina, Hospital Clínico, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Matías Irarrázaval

  10. MIDAP, Santiago, Chile

    Matías Irarrázaval

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  1. Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar
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  2. Patricio Mena-Chamorro
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  3. Alfonso Urzúa
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  4. Wilson Muñoz-Henríquez
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  5. Jerome Flores
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  7. Matías Irarrázaval
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Correspondence to Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar.

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Caqueo-Urízar, A., Mena-Chamorro, P., Urzúa, A. et al. Mental Health in Indigenous Children and Adolescents: The Contribution of Cultural Backgroud. J Immigrant Minority Health 25, 151–160 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-022-01374-0

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