A Canadian catastrophe: The effect of residential diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (Corrado and Cohen 2003). These high rates of PTSD, directly attributed to the trauma experienced within residential schools, provide strong evidence of a link between PTSD and the Canadian residential school system. The prevalence of PTSD has a direct impact on the absence of effective parenting skills in the Aboriginal community, as it often influences behaviors such as alcohol abuse and spousal abuse, which in turn create negative precedents for children growing. Often used as a coping mechanism. To address PTSD, alcohol abuse in modern Aboriginal culture proves to be a major cause for concern. According to a Health Canada report (2003), 79% of individuals in First Nations communities suffered from alcohol abuse and 59% from drug abuse. Furthermore, a study conducted by the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation (2002) found that alcohol-related deaths among the Aboriginal population are 43.7 per 100,000, double the rate in the general population (23.6 per 100,000). Staggering numbers when compared to Canada's overall population, the statistics shown portray the extensive damage caused by residential schools. The phenomena of historical trauma and residential school syndrome contribute largely to the social and cultural epidemic of alcohol abuse in Native communities. With a strong correlation to PTSD, alcohol is also used to cope with problems beyond mental illness, including economic and social difficulties, which are not directly related to residential schools. However, even when it is not related to mental illness, alcohol abuse is still the result of interaction with European culture. Before the arrival of European settlers in North America… middle of paper… all departments actually reach first nations” (Assembly of First Nations 2007:1), with 11% of funding spent on Overhead departmental information from INAC (Assembly of First Nations 2007). To improve Aboriginal living conditions, and subsequently improve Aboriginal parenting skills, we must first address and repair the underlying psychological, emotional and social problems within Native communities. This repair process should be facilitated through the development of a long-term strategy, designed to increase public spending on beneficial social and medical programs, with a primary focus on resolving the trauma inflicted by the residential school system. In the words of Lloyd Robertson (2006: 21), “At the same time, community development work needs to be done to mitigate the disastrous effects of the residential school experiment.”

Topic > A Canadian catastrophe: The effect of residential diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (Corrado and Cohen 2003). These high rates of PTSD, directly attributed to the trauma experienced within residential schools, provide strong evidence of a link between PTSD and the Canadian residential school system. The prevalence of PTSD has a direct impact on the absence of effective parenting skills in the Aboriginal community, as it often influences behaviors such as alcohol abuse and spousal abuse, which in turn create negative precedents for children growing. Often used as a coping mechanism. To address PTSD, alcohol abuse in modern Aboriginal culture proves to be a major cause for concern. According to a Health Canada report (2003), 79% of individuals in First Nations communities suffered from alcohol abuse and 59% from drug abuse. Furthermore, a study conducted by the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation (2002) found that alcohol-related deaths among the Aboriginal population are 43.7 per 100,000, double the rate in the general population (23.6 per 100,000). Staggering numbers when compared to Canada's overall population, the statistics shown portray the extensive damage caused by residential schools. The phenomena of historical trauma and residential school syndrome contribute largely to the social and cultural epidemic of alcohol abuse in Native communities. With a strong correlation to PTSD, alcohol is also used to cope with problems beyond mental illness, including economic and social difficulties, which are not directly related to residential schools. However, even when it is not related to mental illness, alcohol abuse is still the result of interaction with European culture. Before the arrival of European settlers in North America… middle of paper… all departments actually reach first nations” (Assembly of First Nations 2007:1), with 11% of funding spent on Overhead departmental information from INAC (Assembly of First Nations 2007). To improve Aboriginal living conditions, and subsequently improve Aboriginal parenting skills, we must first address and repair the underlying psychological, emotional and social problems within Native communities. This repair process should be facilitated through the development of a long-term strategy, designed to increase public spending on beneficial social and medical programs, with a primary focus on resolving the trauma inflicted by the residential school system. In the words of Lloyd Robertson (2006: 21), “At the same time, community development work needs to be done to mitigate the disastrous effects of the residential school experiment.”