Social Determinants of Health Quiz

Ethnicity as a Protective Factor

• Being born outside of Australia can be a protective factor against harmful alcohol use, due to factors such as family cohesion, rules, and cultural norms, as well as parental supervision.
• However, it can also be a risk factor, particularly in low socio-economic status (SES) communities, where family trauma, social isolation, and other cultural factors may contribute to harmful alcohol use.

Indigenous Australians and Risk Factors

• Indigenous Australians are not inherently more prone to alcohol use disorders due to biological or genetic factors.
• Rather, the risk factors are related to poverty, disadvantage, cultural dispossession, exclusion, and other cultural factors, such as a lack of traditional rules around alcohol use.
• There are exceptions, such as high levels of heroin use among some South-East Asian youth in Sydney and Melbourne.
• While Aboriginal people generally drink less than non-Aboriginal people, those who do drink are more likely to do so at hazardous levels.

Education as a Protective Factor

• Pro-social contact and positive adult relationships can minimize boredom and enhance intelligence and talent development.
• Exploring future aspirations and positive health behaviors are supported by the environment.

General Protective Factors

• Positive family relationships, characterized by:
  • Clear, consistent boundaries
  • Healthy attachments and social bonding
  • Stability and connectedness
• Proactive problem-solving and resilience
• Development of a special talent, although this can sometimes lead to association with pro-drug using peer groups
• Personality and temperament, including above-average intelligence and career goals/aspirations
• The concept of "flow" state, as described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, where one becomes fully absorbed in an activity and loses sense of self.