BACKGROUND: Anthropologists are beginning to translate insights from ethnography into tools for population studies that assess the role of culture in human behavior, biology, and health. AIM: We describe several lessons learned in the creation and administration of an ethnographically-based instrument to assess the life course perspectives of Appalachian youth, the Life Trajectory Interview for Youth (LTI-Y). Then, we explore the utility of the LTI-Y in predicting depressive symptoms, controlling for prior depressive symptoms and severe negative life events throughout the life course. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In a sample of 319 youths (190 White, 129 Cherokee), we tested the association between depressive symptoms and two domains of the LTI-Y - life course barriers and milestones. Longitudinal data on prior depressive symptoms and negative life events were included in the model. RESULTS: The ethnographically-based scales of life course barriers and milestones were associated with unique variance in depressive symptoms, together accounting for 11% of the variance in this outcome. CONCLUSION: When creating ethnographically-based instruments, it is important to strike a balance between detailed, participant-driven procedures and the analytic needs of hypothesis testing. Ethnographically-based instruments have utility for predicting health outcomes in longitudinal studies.
BACKGROUND: Anthropologists are beginning to translate insights from ethnography into tools for population studies that assess the role of culture in human behavior, biology, and health. AIM: We describe several lessons learned in the creation and administration of an ethnographically-based instrument to assess the life course perspectives of Appalachian youth, the Life Trajectory Interview for Youth (LTI-Y). Then, we explore the utility of the LTI-Y in predicting depressive symptoms, controlling for prior depressive symptoms and severe negative life events throughout the life course. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In a sample of 319 youths (190 White, 129 Cherokee), we tested the association between depressive symptoms and two domains of the LTI-Y - life course barriers and milestones. Longitudinal data on prior depressive symptoms and negative life events were included in the model. RESULTS: The ethnographically-based scales of life course barriers and milestones were associated with unique variance in depressive symptoms, together accounting for 11% of the variance in this outcome. CONCLUSION: When creating ethnographically-based instruments, it is important to strike a balance between detailed, participant-driven procedures and the analytic needs of hypothesis testing. Ethnographically-based instruments have utility for predicting health outcomes in longitudinal studies.
Authors: Ryan A Brown; Nancy E Adler; Carol M Worthman; William E Copeland; E Jane Costello; Adrian Angold Journal: Ethn Health Date: 2008-09 Impact factor: 2.772
Authors: Daniel L Dickerson; Jennifer Parker; Carrie L Johnson; Ryan A Brown; Elizabeth J D'Amico Journal: Clin Trials Date: 2020-11-24 Impact factor: 2.486
Authors: Emily Mendenhall; Roopa Shivashankar; Nikhil Tandon; Mohammed K Ali; K M Venkat Narayan; Dorairaj Prabhakaran Journal: Soc Sci Med Date: 2012-10-17 Impact factor: 4.634