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Previous research suggests that for Māori (the Indigenous peoples of New Zealand), Cultural Efficacy is associated with increased life satisfaction and may act as a buffer against stressful events and factors that can cause psychological distress. Here, we test a mediation model derived from this general culture-as-cure kaupapa (theme) using data from Māori who participated in the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (N = 676). Our model indicates that Cultural Efficacy, or one's confidence to competently engage in te ao Māori (the Māori world), was significantly linked with Self-Esteem and that this positive association was partially mediated by the negative association between Cultural Efficacy and rumination. Our model suggests that this protective or buffering effect occurs-at least in part-because Māori with a higher Cultural Efficacy tend to experience lower levels of rumination, and a lower level rumination is, in turn, linked with increased Self-Esteem. These findings support a general culture-as-cure kaupapa for Māori, and add to the emerging literature linking Cultural Efficacy and active identity engagement with positive psychological and health outcomes for Māori.
Keywords: Māori, Cultural Efficacy, Culture as Cure, Rumination, Self-Esteem, Mediation.
"Toi tu te kupu, toi tu te mana, toi tu te whenua"
- Tinirau of Whanganui
In the above whakatauki (proverb), Tinirau of Whanganui implored Māori, the Indigenous peoples of New Zealand (NZ), to be strong in their culture, kupu (language), mana (integrity) and whenua (land) as these make up a strong part of Māori identity (see Turia, 2012). From Tinirau's perspective, one of the key strengths upon which Māori peoples can draw is their culture. Our research is guided by this korero (discourse). Indeed, a body of emerging research supports a general 'culture-as-cure' kaupapa (theme) in which engagement with Māori culture, pride and confidence in speaking or learning te reo (Māori language), feeling at home on marae - central spaces for iwi (tribes) and hapu (sub-tribes), and feeling a sense of efficacy in Māori cultural contexts, are linked with positive psychological and health benefits for Māori (Houkamau & Sibley, 2011; Muriwai, Houkamau & Sibley, 2015). The converging research supporting this model is wide-spread in methodology, and draws on qualitative or interview studies (e.g., Borell, 2005; Boulton, Gifford, Kauika & Parata, 2011; Wilson, 2008; Cram, Smith & Johnstone, 2003),...