We used a novel measure of cultural efficacy to examine empirical pathways between enculturation, efficacy, and two wellbeing outcomes. Cultural factors are not consistently linked to better wellbeing in the academic literature despite widespread understanding of these processes in Indigenous communities. Healing pathways is a community-based participatory study with eight reservations/reserves in the upper Midwest and Canada. This study uses data collected in 2017–2018 (n = 453, 58.1% women, mean age = 26.3 years) and structural equation modeling to test the relationships between enculturation, cultural efficacy, and mental health. The direct effect of enculturation on anxiety was positive. The indirect effect of enculturation via cultural efficacy was negatively associated with anxiety and positively associated with positive mental health. Cultural efficacy is an important linking variable through which the protective effects of culture manifest. The complex nature of culture must be met with innovative measures and deep understanding of Indigenous peoples to fully capture the protective role of culture.

中文翻译：

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文化功效作为理解土著社区文化与心理健康之间联系的新组成部分

我们使用一种新的文化效能测量方法来检验文化适应、效能和两种幸福结果之间的实证途径。尽管土著社区对这些过程有广泛的了解，但文化因素在学术文献中并未始终与更好的福祉相关联。治疗途径是一项基于社区的参与性研究，在中西部和加拿大有八个保留地/保留地。本研究使用 2017-2018 年收集的数据（n  = 453，58.1% 为女性，平均年龄 = 26.3 岁）和结构方程模型来检验文化适应、文化效能和心理健康之间的关系。文化适应对焦虑的直接影响是积极的。文化适应的间接影响文化效能与焦虑呈负相关，与积极的心理健康呈正相关。文化效能是体现文化保护作用的重要关联变量。文化的复杂性必须通过创新措施和对土著人民的深刻理解来应对，以充分发挥文化的保护作用。