title: Assessing health in an Alaska native cultural context: The Yup'ik Wellness Survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The development and validation of a wellness measure among the Yup'ik of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska is presented, with the overarching goal of supporting locally relevant health practices in this Alaska Native population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey containing the wellness measure and several additional psychosocial variables was completed by 493 Yup'ik individuals from 7 different highly rural communities in western Alaska. Participants ranged in age from 14 to 94 (M = 38.55, SD = 17.14), and slightly more than half were female (58.62%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals who scored higher on the wellness measure reported greater happiness, greater overall health, greater communal mastery, a larger and more satisfying social support network, and coping styles that were more likely to be active, accepting, and growth-oriented, and less likely to involve drugs and alcohol.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This project advances research on the health implications of enculturation by specifying particular patterns of culturally sanctioned beliefs and behaviors that appear most beneficial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lardon
authors.affiliation: Oregon State University - Cascades.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wolsko
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Edison
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Trickett
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Research and Policy.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: Center for Alaska Native Health Research.
authors.forename: Scarlett
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hopkins
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000072957:Alaska Natives / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012423:Rural Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult