Aboriginal Australians make up 3 % of the Australian population and have a life expectancy over 10 years less
than that of non-Aboriginal Australians.3 The small amount of evidence available suggests that Australian Aboriginal children and adolescents experience higher levels of mental health - related harm
than other young people4, 5 including suicide
rates that are several times higher
than that of non-Aboriginal Australian youth.4, 6 These high levels of harm are linked to greater exposure to many of the known risk factors for poor mental health and to the pervasive trauma and grief, which continues to be experienced by Aboriginal peoples due to the legacy of colonisation.7, 8 Loss of land and
culture has played a major role in the high
rates of premature mortality, incarceration and family separations currently experienced by Aboriginal peoples.
A collectivistic
culture values harmony within the group, and the individual gain is considered to be less important
than improvement of the social group.14 Embarrassment may be more common in collectivistic
cultures because it is induced by external sanctions.15 «Taijin kyofusho» (the fear of offending or embarrassing the
other person) is an example of a culturally specific expression of anxiety in Asian countries.16 Biological evidence also showed that people who live in collectivist
cultures are more likely
than those in individualistic
cultures to have a form of the serotonin transporter gene that correlates with higher
rates of anxiety and depression.17