Reporting Historical Loss Events and Mental Health in American Indians

The concept of historical trauma highlights how past events shape contemporary well-being through various pathways, including conscious awareness of historical losses. While previous research has established connections between thinking about historical losses and mental health outcomes, existing assessments primarily rely on retrospective self-reports regarding the frequency of such thoughts to derive historical loss scores. This study explored how American Indian participants (N = 104) reported negative past events experienced by American Indians during an online timed task. We examined the antecedents and consequences of such reporting and found that most of the negative collective past events reported were historical loss events, with a small portion related to residential school experiences. Self-reported historical loss scores, rather than enculturation or ethnic identity centrality, predicted the likelihood of reporting historical loss events. Women and individuals with family residential school experiences were more likely to report historical loss events. Furthermore, the reporting of historical loss events moderated the relationship between historical loss scores and anxiety symptoms. Specifically, the association between historical loss scores and anxiety symptoms was observed only among those who reported a higher number or proportion of historical loss events.