Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Subica, Andrew M.
• Link, Bruce G.

Titel

Cultural trauma as a fundamental cause of health disparities

Ist Teil von

• Social science & medicine (1982), 2022-01, Vol.292, p.114574-114574, Article 114574

Ort / Verlag

England: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2022

Quelle

Access via ScienceDirect (Elsevier)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Health disparities disproportionately affect minority cultural groups (e.g., Indigenous, immigrant, refugee) worldwide; enduring across time, disease states, and risk factors despite co-occurring advancements in health and medicine. Fundamental cause theory holds that important social factors (e.g., socioeconomic status, stigma, racism) produce health disparities by restricting equitable access to health-protective resources. Yet, extant literature has not utilized fundamental cause theory to describe the health disparities impact of cultural trauma: an overwhelming, often ongoing physical or psychological assault by an oppressive dominant group on another group's cultural resources through force, threats of force, or oppressive policies. This paper presents a novel conceptual model detailing cultural trauma and the mechanisms through which it may disrupt health and create disparities by damaging three health-protective cultural resources: cultural modes, institutions, and lands. Following cultural trauma, we propose affected groups are socially disadvantaged and exposed to pervasive stress, stigma, and diminished resources, perpetuating health disparities across generations. Consequently, cultural trauma may represent an unrecognized fundamental cause of health disparities, offering potential avenues for promoting health equity through targeted research, interventions, and policies. •Many minority groups are affected by cultural trauma and health disparities.•Fundamental causes create health disparities by reducing access to health resources.•Cultural trauma may cause disparities by reducing key cultural and health resources.•Research evidence suggests cultural trauma meets all fundamental cause criteria.•Recognizing cultural trauma's role in disparities may lead to new research pathways.