title: Experiences of being a young male Sami reindeer herder: a qualitative study in perspective of mental health.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore experiences of what it is to be a young male Sami reindeer herder in Sweden, a group with previously known stigma and specific health issues, and to understand experiences in perspective of mental health.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative content analysis was employed. Data were collected by in-depth interviews with 15 strategically selected reindeer herders aged 18-35 years old.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysis resulted in 5 sub-themes: (a) being "inside" or "outside" is a question of identity; (b) a paradox between being free/bound; (c) an experience of various threats and a feeling of powerlessness; (d) specific norms for how a "real" reindeer herder should be; and (e) the different impacts and meanings of relations. The overarching theme is summarized thus: being a young reindeer herder means so many (impossible) dreams and conditions. Overall, the experience of the informants was that being a reindeer herder is a privileged position that also implies many impossibilities and unjust adversities they have no control over, and that there is nothing they can do but "bite the bullet or be a failure."
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Knowledge about this group's experiences can be used to understand difficulties faced by young reindeer herders and its consequences regarding mental health problems. This also implies a need for a broader perspective when discussing future interventions aimed at preventing mental health problems in this group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. niclas.kaiser@psy.umu.se
authors.forename: Niclas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Terje
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ruong
authors.forename: Ellinor Salander
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Renberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D001110:Arctic Regions; D005195:Family Relations; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D011582:Psychological Theory; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012053:Reindeer; D012931:Social Environment; D013548:Sweden; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Sami; experiences; gender; males; mental health; organizational culture; qualitative content analysis; reindeer herder