Self-reported internalization symptoms and family factors in indigenous Sami and non-Sami adolescents in North Norway Margrethe Bals a, * , Anne Lene Turi a , Joar Vittersø a , Ingunn Skre a , Siv Kvernmo b, c a Department of Psychology, University of Tromsø, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway b Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Division of Child and Adolescent Health, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway c Regional Centre of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Region North, Institute of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway Keywords: Sami Indigenous Adolescence Internalization Ethnic socialization Family abstract Through differences in family socialization between indigenous and non-indigenous youth, there may be cultural differences in the impact of family factors on mental health outcome. Using structural equation modelling, this population-based study explored the relationship between symptoms of anxiety and depression and family factors in indige- nous Sami and non-Sami boys and girls in North Norway. The findings show that family income was to a lesser degree related to internalization symptoms for Sami youth than non-Sami youth. For all groups except for Sami girls, family conflict and moving was associated with increasing symptoms. Sami boys differed from the other three groups with regard to the relationship between family connectedness and symptom level. These interaction effects were discussed in light of traditional Sami values and gender sociali- zation. The present study has indicated that in the family socialization context, culture may be related to internalization symptoms in youth. Ó 2010 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The family environments of children and adolescents from minority cultures often diverge from those of the majority culture with regard to differences in parental socialization practices, family values and conflicting cultural values. The unique experiences of ethnic minority youth and families are not fully integrated into the mainstream developmental models for child and adolescent problem behaviour (Garcia Coll et al., 1996; Greenfield, Keller, Fuligni, & Maynard, 2003; Yasui & Dishion, 2007). Risk factors and protective factors may have a different impact depending on differences in cultural norms, practices and values (Cicchetti & Rogosch, 2002). These issues have rarely been addressed regarding indigenous adolescents. In the present study, we will focus on the family context of indigenous Sami and explore the relationship between family factors and internalization symptoms in youth. The Sami context The Sami are the indigenous people residing in the circumpolar parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Russian Kola Peninsula, and are estimated to comprise around 60–110,000 individuals in these four different countries (Hassler, Kvernmo, & Kozlow 2008). Approximately 70% of the Sami people live in the Norwegian part of “Sapmi,” the Sami homeland. The Sami have a specific history, culture, language and traditional employment. After the mid 1800s, the official Norwegian assimilation policy, called the Norwegianization policy, was stepped up, and continued for at least a century. Sami were to be assimilated into Norwegian society and culture by the prohibition of Sami * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ47 77 64 92 15; fax: þ47 77 64 52 91. E-mail address: margrethe.bals@uit.no (M. Bals). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Adolescence journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jado 0140-1971/$ – see front matter Ó 2010 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.08.005 Journal of Adolescence 34 (2011) 759–766