Tomas Vasquez, “Social Connection: Social Supports as an Unique Mediator of Suicide Within Indigenous Peoples”
Mentor: Gabriela Nagy, Psychology
Poster #115

Research has linked historical and ongoing systematic oppression to a range of adverse mental health outcomes including suicide in Indigenous Peoples, which are disproportionately higher compared to White individuals. Despite the disproportionate burden of mental illness, Indigenous Peoples also have healthcare inequities. Recent work has sought to identify malleable social risk factors (e.g., social connection) that could reduce mental health inequities in this population through prevention and health promotion. This present narrative review of peer-reviewed empirical studies aims to explore literature supporting the establishment or expansion of social connection interventions as mediators of suicide. A narrative review from the last 20 years will be conducted focusing on the Indigenous Peoples of the United States (US), search terms were related to “Suicide”, “Mental Health Intervention”, and “Social Support”; additional criteria included papers in English found through the databases of PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Preliminary searches resulted in 47 articles (9 from PubMed, 9 from PsycINFO, and 29 from Web of Science). 22 articles were excluded because they were not empirical, unrelated to social connection or suicide, duplicates, or not within the US. The remaining 25 articles revealed the following themes: reliance on informal social supports over formal healthcare systems (e.g., preference for seeking support from friends and community members) and the importance of culturally relevant support systems (e.g., being community-centered over individualistic). These preliminary results suggest potential cultural variation in viewing mental health as a community concern rather than an individual issue, warranting further exploration. The initial findings highlight a scarcity of interventions focused on social connection within Indigenous communities, underscoring the need for expanded and replicated interventions. Additionally, there’s a call for the development of pan-Indian interventions that can easily be adapted to different Indigenous tribes and their respective contexts.