"I Have Strong Hopes for the Future": Time Orientations and Resilience Among Canadian Indigenous Youth

Qual Health Res. 2017 Jul;27(9):1330-1344. doi: 10.1177/1049732317712489. Epub 2017 Jun 1.

Abstract

In this article, we demonstrate how concepts of time and the future inform processes of resilience among Indigenous adolescents within an urban Canadian context. This study employed a modified grounded theory methodology by conducting 38 qualitative interviews with 28 Indigenous youth (ages 15-25) over the course of 1 year. The analysis revealed complex processes of and navigations between moments of distress and strategies for resilience. The distressing contexts in which Indigenous youth often find themselves can impact the development of their concepts of time and limit their abilities to conceptualize a future. A future time orientation (FTO) emerged as central to processes of resilience and was supported by (a) nurturing a sense of belonging, (b) developing self-mastery, and

Keywords: Canada; Indigenous methodologies; Indigenous youth; Saskatchewan; belonging; cultural continuity; future time orientation; grounded theory; resilience; self-mastery.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Canada
  • Female
  • Grounded Theory
  • Hope
  • Humans
  • Indians, North American / psychology*
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Male
  • Qualitative Research
  • Resilience, Psychological*
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Stress, Psychological / ethnology*
  • Urban Population
  • Young Adult