Strong souls assessment tool
Strong souls was developed as a measure of social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) for use in the Aboriginal Birth Cohort Study to examine how SEWB factors impact biomarkers of chronic adult disease[1-4]. It has also been used in studies investigating the SEWB of Aboriginal people in substance misuse rehabilitation [5]and prison settings[6].
At the moment Strong Souls is freely available and recommended only for research or screening purposes. It has not yet been validated in a clinical setting and there are currently no guidelines or manual available for its use or scoring. More work is required before it is recommended for use in a clinical setting however we would be supportive of other groups that may wish to undertake some of this work.
- Jamieson, L., et al. Oral health ans social and emotional well-being in a birth cohort of Aboriginal Australian young adults. BMC Public Health, 2011. 11, 656.
- Priest, N., et al. Racism and health among urban Aboriginal young people. BMC Public Health, 2011. 11, 568.
- Sayers, S., et al., An Australian Aboriginal birth cohort: a unique resource for a life course study of an Indigenous population. A study protocol. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 2003. 3(1): p. 1.
- Sayers, S., et al. Australian Aboriginal Birth Cohort study: Follow-up processes at 20 years. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 2009. 9, 23 DOI: 10.1186/1472-698X-9-23.
- Dingwall, K.M. and S. Cairney, Detecting psychological symptoms related to substance misuse among Indigenous Australians. Drug and Alcohol Review, 2011. 30(1): p. 33-39.
- Thomas, A., et al., Strong Souls: The development and validation of a culturally appropriate tool for assessment of social and emotional wellbeing in Indigenous youth. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2010. 44(1): p. 40-48.
