Strong cultural connectedness buffers urban American Indian children from the negative effects of stress on mental health

We explored whether urban American Indian (AI) caregivers who maintained a strong sense of cultural connectedness buffered their children from the negative effects of stress on mental health. A community sample of 161 urban AI children (91 girls) ages 8–15 years ( M = 11.20 years) and their primary caregivers participated between 2016 and 2017. Caregiver cultural connectedness moderated associations among child stressful life events and increased anger ( R 2 = .13) and post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms ( R 2 = .15). For caregivers with greater cultural connectedness, associations were attenuated and not significant. Higher hair cortisol was related to increased depressive ( R 2 = .11), anxiety ( R 2 = .10), and PTSD ( R 2 = .15) symptoms and was not moderated by cultural connectedness.