Notes on Culture Change and Personality Adjustment Among the North Alaska Eskimos

Abstract

Discusses the effects of rapid transition to western culture, as investigated at Kaktovik on Barter Island since 1958. Due to various factors, noted, this community adjusted to wage labor at a nearby DEW Line radar installation without undue disruption. The effects on individual mental health, as indicated by the Cornell Medical Index questionnaire, were examined in 1960. Results suggest that individuals whose knowledge of white culture was less than their degree of identification with it tended to be more emotionally disturbed than those whose knowledge matched or exceeded their identification. Women showed more symptoms of disturbance than men; other demographic factors (age, education, etc.) had no apparent influence.