Historical racism: Implications for Native Americans.

Comments on the article by R. Clark et al (see record 1999-11644-001), which outlines a biopsychosocial model for perceived racism as a stressor among African Americans. One long-standing example of intergroup racism that continues to have pervasive effects is historical racism. It is argued that historical racism has had and continues to have a profound impact on Native Americans. The authors outline some possible ways in which historical racism constitutes a stressor with biopsychosocial implications for American Indians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reflections on a proposed theory of reservation-dwelling American Indian alcohol use: Comment on Spillane and Smith (2007).

In their recent article, N. Spillane and G. Smith (see record 2007-06095-002) suggested that reservation-dwelling American Indians have higher rates of problem drinking than do either non–American Indians or those American Indians living in nonreservation settings. These authors further argued that problematic alcohol use patterns in reservation communities are due to the lack of contingencies between drinking and “standard life reinforcers” (SLRs), such as employment, housing, education, and health care. This comment presents evidence that these arguments were based on a partial review of the literature. Weaknesses in the application of SLR constructs to American Indian reservation communities are identified as is the need for culturally contextualized empirical evidence supporting this theory and its application. Cautionary notes are offered about the development of literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and policy recommendations for American Indian communities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)