Table X.

Causal pathways identified for protective factors around culture including practicing traditional activities and having a positive ethnic identity

Protective factor	Causal pathway	First Author
Learning and practicing culture (e.g. traditional practices and subsistence activities)	Strengthens self-esteem, ethnic identity, and self-regulation skills. Sharing cultural knowledge enhances in-group cohesiveness and support through experience of shared meaning-making. Also provides an opportunity to participate in the passing down of traditional knowledge and cultural values thus creating feeling of keeping culture alive. Enhances relationships between youth and the land and between youth and their families. Facilitates and creates context for important mentoring relationships and connection to older generations leading to youth feeling supported. Promotes healthy living, facilitates involvement and creates opportunities for sharing. Gain new skills (e.g. hunting, camping, riding) and knowledge. Develops sense of ethnic pride. Provides a meaningful way for youth to contribute and give back to the community, earn respect for skills, and feel appreciation from community (e.g. through sharing kill). Subsistence skills demonstrate strength and survival and are associated with ability to respond and to be resilient in face of hardship. Being out on the land requires youth to act selflessly, be responsible and less petty, show respect, rely on others, and distinguish between what is essential vs. trivial. Meaningful engagement in traditional activities also contributes to sense of purpose, feeling more self efficacious, and staying busy. Traditional activities associated with fulfilment, sense of calm, and sense of being special. Shows cultural continuity with one's heritage and connects youth to sense of how life used to be. Provides time with parents to learn skills and how to be in the world. Ability to practice culture is source of pride and well-being.	Bals (2010, 2011a) Decou (2013) Wexler, Jernigan (2013) Wexler, Joule (2013) Kral (2011)
Positive cultural/ethnic identity and shared heritage	Leads to and increases self-esteem, feelings of self-worth, self-efficacy, connectedness, commitment, and purpose. Provides sense of belonging. Offers perspectives to draw from to overcome challenges and be well. Evokes sense of strength and capability. Creates larger shared context in which youth can situate themselves and their struggles in relation to others, to their history, and to a collective. Provides a means to structure one's understanding and ideas of their role in the world (e.g. as a youth, as Inuit/Sami/Inupiat)	Wexler (2013) Wexler, Joule (2013) Allen (2006)
Ethnic socialization	Influence on interpersonal and intra-psychic processes, increases self-confidence, develops positive attitudes towards ethnic identity, teaches self-regulation and coping skills.	Bals (2010, 2011b)
Native language	Personal and relational significance – important part of ethnic identity that strengthens in-group cohesion, personal pride, and sense of history and culture.	Bals (2010, 2011b)