Moving from ethnography to epidemiology: lessons learned in Appalachia.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
BACKGROUND: Anthropologists are beginning to translate insights from ethnography into tools for population studies that assess the role of culture in human behavior, biology, and health. AIM: We describe several lessons learned in the creation and administration of an ethnographically-based instrument to assess the life course perspectives of Appalachian youth, the Life Trajectory Interview for Youth (LTI-Y). Then, we explore the utility of the LTI-Y in predicting depressive symptoms, controlling for prior depressive symptoms and severe negative life events throughout the life course. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In a sample of 319 youths (190 White, 129 Cherokee), we tested the association between depressive symptoms and two domains of the LTI-Y - life course barriers and milestones. Longitudinal data on prior depressive symptoms and negative life events were included in the model. RESULTS: The ethnographically-based scales of life course barriers and milestones were associated with unique variance in depressive symptoms, together accounting for 11% of the variance in this outcome. CONCLUSION: When creating ethnographically-based instruments, it is important to strike a balance between detailed, participant-driven procedures and the analytic needs of hypothesis testing. Ethnographically-based instruments have utility for predicting health outcomes in longitudinal studies.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Brown, RA; Kuzara, J; Copeland, WE; Costello, EJ; Angold, A; Worthman, CM
Published Date
- May 2009
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 36 / 3
Start / End Page
- 248 - 260
PubMed ID
- 19353406
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC2868371
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1464-5033
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1080/03014460902832942
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- England