Female Sterilization and Poor Mental Health: Rates and Relatedness among American Indian and Alaska Native Women

• Main Authors: Cackler, Christina JJ, Shapiro, Valerie B, Lahiff, Maureen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: eScholarship, University of California 2016
• Subjects: Arctic; Behavioral and Social Science; Contraception/Reproduction; American Indian or Alaska Native; Prevention; Mental Health; Reproductive health and childbirth; Good Health and Well Being; Adult; Alaskan Natives; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; Blacks; Female; Health Behavior; Hispanic or Latino; Humans; Indians; North American; Inuits; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Sterilization; Reproductive; United States; Whites; Young Adult; White People; Black People; Inuit; Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine; Public Health and Health Services; Public Health; Indian; inuit; inuits; Alaska
• Online Access: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/14h800rr

ObjectiveTo describe the reproductive and mental health of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women, an understudied population.MethodsData from the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey were analyzed to determine the 1) prevalence of female sterilization among a nationally representative sample of reproductive age AI/AN women and 2) the association of female sterilization and poor mental health among AI/AN women compared with non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic women.ResultsNearly 25% of AI/AN women reported female sterilization, a prevalence higher than the comparison racial/ethnic groups (p < .005). Adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, AI/AN women reporting female sterilization had nearly 2.5 times the odds of poor mental health compared with AI/AN women not reporting female sterilization (p = .001). The same magnitude of relationship between female sterilization and poor mental health was not found for non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic women.ConclusionsThe prevalence of female sterilization is greater among AI/AN women compared with non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic women, and AI/AN women reporting female sterilization have higher odds of reporting poor mental health. Common cultural experiences, such as a shared ancestral history of forced sterilizations, may be relevant, and could be considered when providing reproductive and mental health services to AI/AN women.