Childhood traumatic exposure and belief in Hawaiian values as contributing factors to identity functioning

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2025-05

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The development of an ego-identity is a crucial part in adolescence and early adulthood where a youth seeks to understand the answer to the question of “who am I?”. A disturbed (i.e., incoherent, unstable) identity and/or lack of identity has historically been linked to various mental illnesses, such as borderline personality disorder, depression, and PTSD. The focus of this thesis was to examine the relationship between childhood adversity, ego-identity, and Native Hawaiian cultural values. Researchers found that, within a Native Hawaiian population, belief in Hawaiian values moderated the relationship between childhood trauma and self-reported feelings of lacking an identity. Results generally support previous research showing that identification and engagement with one's own culture can lead to healthier identity outcomes. In the context of the State of Hawai‘i, results indicate that clinicians would be able to better serve their clients by being more knowledgeable about Hawaiian history, culture, values, and practices, and by engaging in the exploration of aspects of Hawaiian culture that resonate with their Native Hawaiian clients within session.

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Psychology, Indigenous studies, Mental health, childhood adversity, childhood trauma, ego-identity, Hawaiian values, Indigenous peoples, Native Hawaiian culture

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58 pages

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