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Sense Of Belonging In The Urban School Environments Of Aboriginal Youth, Chantelle Am Richmond, Dawn Smith, * The Wabano Centre For Aboriginal Health

Chantelle Richmond

It is well established that educational attainment and social support are critical social determinants of health among Aboriginal Canadians. Still, the gap in educational attainment with non-Aboriginal Canadians continues to grow, and little is known about the role of social support as a health determinant among Aboriginal youth. In collaboration with The Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health (Ottawa, Canada), we undertook focus groups with urban Aboriginal youth at-risk to examine perceptions of their urban school environments, including access to social support. Data were analyzed using a general inductive approach. Results indicate that youths’ perceived level of trust is key to …