Chapter 8: Social and Emotional Wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People within the Broader Context of the Social Determinants of Health Graham Henderson (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies) Carrie Robson (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Ton-es Strait islander Studies) Leonie Cox (School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology) Craig Dukes (Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health) Komia Tsey (School of Indigenous Australian StUdies and School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, James Cook University) Melissa Haswell (School of Population Health, University of Queensland) Introduction The socia! and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is affected by a range of social determinants of health. These determinants include forms of State violence and inter-generational trauma, imbalanced power relations and limited access to services wiihin the mainstream population, and systemised and individualised discrimination and racism. These contribute greatly to the perpetuation of lower income and standards of living, including poor quality and overcrowded housing and community infrastJucture. and poorer outcomes in health, education, employment and the justice system. Indigenous Australians continue to experience higher levels of poverty. incarceration and ill health than the rest of the Australian population. Given these experiences, and the resulting disadvantage th ey exert on Aboriginal and Torres Strait {slarder people's employment opportunities, it is not surprising that welfare payments Originally designed as safely nets for the small m inoriiy. that is 5-10 per cent of the mainstream pO!XJlation that become unemployed at any given time, have become a trap for some Aboriginal8!1d Torres Strait Islanders, where up to 80 per cent of residents live on some form of welfare. The effects of inter-generational welfare on such communities are clearly visible and continue to entrench the 'downtrodden image' of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the media. The experience of these inequities promotes adoption of risk behaviours such as smOking, inhalant use and harmful drinking, as well as poor nutrition and the morbidity associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, renal disease and mental illness, and many infectious diseases (ABS & AIHW 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003. 2005). A number of reports outline the factors that influence! determine the SOCial ard emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Istander people. These include: Dunlop 1988; NAHSWP 1989; RCIAOIC 1991: Burdekin 1993; Swan and Raphael 1 995; HREOC 1997; and Zubrick et al. 2005. The Commonweafth Department of Health and Ageing (DHA) has published a Beyond Bandaids Exploring the Underlying Social Detemlinants of Aboriginal HeaJtll