The Cedar Project: Relationship between child apprehension and attempted suicide among young Indigenous mothers impacted by substance use in two Canadian cities.
Indigenous leaders are gravely concerned over disproportionate representation of Indigenous children in Canada's child welfare systems. Forced separation from children is deeply traumatizing for mothers and detrimental to the wellbeing of Indigenous families, communities and Nations. This study...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252993 |
| _version_ | 1819195176354054144 |
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| author | Lisa Ritland Victoria Thomas Kate Jongbloed David S Zamar Mary P Teegee Wenecwtsin-Kukpi Christian Chris G Richardson Martin Guhn Martin T Schechter Patricia M Spittal Cedar Project Partnership |
| author_facet | Lisa Ritland Victoria Thomas Kate Jongbloed David S Zamar Mary P Teegee Wenecwtsin-Kukpi Christian Chris G Richardson Martin Guhn Martin T Schechter Patricia M Spittal Cedar Project Partnership |
| author_sort | Lisa Ritland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Indigenous leaders are gravely concerned over disproportionate representation of Indigenous children in Canada's child welfare systems. Forced separation from children is deeply traumatizing for mothers and detrimental to the wellbeing of Indigenous families, communities and Nations. This study examined relationships between child apprehension and suicide attempt within a cohort of young Indigenous women impacted by substance use. We utilized data collected every 6 months (2008-2016) by the Cedar Project, an Indigenous-governed cohort study involving young Indigenous people who use drugs in British Columbia, Canada. Recent child apprehension was defined as having a child apprehended by the Ministry of Child and Family Development since last visit. Recurrent event Cox proportional hazards models estimated the independent effect of child apprehension on maternal suicide attempt. Among 293 participants, 78 (27%) reported 136 child apprehensions; incidence of first apprehension was 6.64 (95%CI: 5.25-8.29) per 100 person-years. Forty-seven (16%) participants reported 75 suicide attempts with an incidence of 4.00 (95%CI: 2.94-5.33) per 100 person-years. Participants who reported recent child apprehension (HR: 1.88, 95%CI: 1.00-3.55), had a parent attend residential school (HR: 4.12, 95%CI: 1.63-10.46), experienced recent sexual assault (HR: 4.04, 95%CI: 2.04-7.99), violence (HR: 2.54, 95%CI: 1.52-4.27) or overdose (HR: 4.97, 95%CI: 2.96-8.35) were more likely to attempt suicide. Participants who had a traditional language spoken in the home growing up were half as likely to attempt suicide (HR: 0.49, 95%CI: 0.23-1.01). Results suggest that child welfare systems in Canada perpetuate historical and intergenerational trauma among young Indigenous mothers. Indigenous self-determination over child welfare and culturally safe services are urgently needed to end cycles of child apprehension and support the wellbeing of families, communities and Nations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T02:08:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3d76d5359db64fa0b257cd74a40c5cd5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T02:08:36Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-3d76d5359db64fa0b257cd74a40c5cd52022-12-21T18:03:50ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01166e025299310.1371/journal.pone.0252993The Cedar Project: Relationship between child apprehension and attempted suicide among young Indigenous mothers impacted by substance use in two Canadian cities.Lisa RitlandVictoria ThomasKate JongbloedDavid S ZamarMary P TeegeeWenecwtsin-Kukpi ChristianChris G RichardsonMartin GuhnMartin T SchechterPatricia M SpittalCedar Project PartnershipIndigenous leaders are gravely concerned over disproportionate representation of Indigenous children in Canada's child welfare systems. Forced separation from children is deeply traumatizing for mothers and detrimental to the wellbeing of Indigenous families, communities and Nations. This study examined relationships between child apprehension and suicide attempt within a cohort of young Indigenous women impacted by substance use. We utilized data collected every 6 months (2008-2016) by the Cedar Project, an Indigenous-governed cohort study involving young Indigenous people who use drugs in British Columbia, Canada. Recent child apprehension was defined as having a child apprehended by the Ministry of Child and Family Development since last visit. Recurrent event Cox proportional hazards models estimated the independent effect of child apprehension on maternal suicide attempt. Among 293 participants, 78 (27%) reported 136 child apprehensions; incidence of first apprehension was 6.64 (95%CI: 5.25-8.29) per 100 person-years. Forty-seven (16%) participants reported 75 suicide attempts with an incidence of 4.00 (95%CI: 2.94-5.33) per 100 person-years. Participants who reported recent child apprehension (HR: 1.88, 95%CI: 1.00-3.55), had a parent attend residential school (HR: 4.12, 95%CI: 1.63-10.46), experienced recent sexual assault (HR: 4.04, 95%CI: 2.04-7.99), violence (HR: 2.54, 95%CI: 1.52-4.27) or overdose (HR: 4.97, 95%CI: 2.96-8.35) were more likely to attempt suicide. Participants who had a traditional language spoken in the home growing up were half as likely to attempt suicide (HR: 0.49, 95%CI: 0.23-1.01). Results suggest that child welfare systems in Canada perpetuate historical and intergenerational trauma among young Indigenous mothers. Indigenous self-determination over child welfare and culturally safe services are urgently needed to end cycles of child apprehension and support the wellbeing of families, communities and Nations.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252993 |
| spellingShingle | Lisa Ritland Victoria Thomas Kate Jongbloed David S Zamar Mary P Teegee Wenecwtsin-Kukpi Christian Chris G Richardson Martin Guhn Martin T Schechter Patricia M Spittal Cedar Project Partnership The Cedar Project: Relationship between child apprehension and attempted suicide among young Indigenous mothers impacted by substance use in two Canadian cities. PLoS ONE |
| title | The Cedar Project: Relationship between child apprehension and attempted suicide among young Indigenous mothers impacted by substance use in two Canadian cities. |
| title_full | The Cedar Project: Relationship between child apprehension and attempted suicide among young Indigenous mothers impacted by substance use in two Canadian cities. |
| title_fullStr | The Cedar Project: Relationship between child apprehension and attempted suicide among young Indigenous mothers impacted by substance use in two Canadian cities. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Cedar Project: Relationship between child apprehension and attempted suicide among young Indigenous mothers impacted by substance use in two Canadian cities. |
| title_short | The Cedar Project: Relationship between child apprehension and attempted suicide among young Indigenous mothers impacted by substance use in two Canadian cities. |
| title_sort | cedar project relationship between child apprehension and attempted suicide among young indigenous mothers impacted by substance use in two canadian cities |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252993 |
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