Connecting Generations for Native American Wellbeing - Old age and youth are two important life stages in many Native American (NA) ontologies that contend with overlapping mental health challenges related to their mutual disconnection from cultural practices and supportive intergenerational relationships. The resultant sociocultural disconnection has contributed to a high prevalence of “disorders of despair” among Elders and youth alike, including substance use, depression, and suicide. Although support for healthy aging has been a priority for many NA peoples, these topics have received little scholarly attention, and the potential to better understand and more effectively address intersecting health concerns related to healthy aging and youth development remains understudied. To fill this gap, researchers at Washington State University and University of Washington-Bothell partnered with an inter-tribal not-for-profit organization, the Coast Salish Youth Coalition, to co-develop a strengths-based health program informed by Elder and youth group consultations in five NA Tribes in Washington State. The proposed study evaluates acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness for the resultant six-month Elder and youth health program. The program addresses desires for greater intergenerational and cultural connectedness alongside concerns about substance use, depression, suicide, and loneliness. Specifically, this feasibility study aims to 1) assess the feasibility and social/cultural acceptability of the health program for this study population, and 2) estimate the effect of the program on proximal (self-esteem, cultural efficacy, intergenerational connectedness), intermediate (substance use, depression, reasons for life, loneliness), and distal (wellbeing) health factors. Survey data collected pre-, post-, and 3 months post-program will be analyzed using simple linear mixed effects regression to test the association between time point and health outcomes. A secondary, exploratory analysis will use the Actor Partner Interdependence Model to assess possible mediation by proximal factors and partner effects from the dyad design. Focus group data will be collected upon completing the program to assess its feasibility and acceptability. Findings will help establish this process for health program co- development for use with other NA populations and for application in different settings to create locally-resonant, strengths-based health interventions for other populations. This novel dyad approach will afford new insights into the role of intergenerational connectedness in promoting NA mental health for Elders and youth, and resultant understandings will help fill a gap in the mental health literature surrounding NA Elders and the intersections between NA Elder and youth mental health.
