Long-term Impact Of Residential Schools Studied

Long-term Impact Of Residential Schools Studied

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 at 15:04

An Aboriginal graduate student says there is now evidence that children of residential school survivors are often negatively affected.

Amy Bombay, who goes to school at Carleton University in Ottawa, did a study on the intergenerational effects of residential schools.

Bombay says up until now, there haven’t been any actual quantitative studies giving actual proof of these findings.

She says those findings are important when educating the non-Aboriginal community because it looks for that kind of evidence.

She found that the children of former students are more likely to have depressive symptoms, anxiety, and substance abuse problems than children of parents who did not attend residential schools.

Bombay says they were more likely to report adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse, neglect, or parents with substance abuse problems — and to perceive higher levels of discrimination.