The willingness to forgive among the Wayuu and among people from other indigenous communities in Colombia

Introduction/Objectives: Willingness to forgive has been studied in different situations, however, there are no published studies in Colombia with indigenous populations and taking into account their worldview. The present research was aimed at examining the willingness to forgive of people from various ethnic minorities in Colombia such as the Embera, Nasa, Pijao and Kaamash-Hu communities and focusing in particular on the Wayuu community. Method: An experimental design was used and a cluster analysis was performed. The sample was composed of 159 indigenous adults (30% male) between the ages of 18 and 76, who were shown a series of scenarios describing a common situation in which an orchard was damaged by domestic animals belonging to a neighbour. Three factors were manipulated in the scenario: the severity of the damage, the level of carelessness of the animals' owner, and the animals' owner's explanations and apologetic behaviour. Results: Cluster analysis yielded five qualitatively different positions: Never forgive under any circumstances (6% of the sample, primarily participants from the Embera community), Depends on apology and neglect (15%), Depends on apology, consequences, and neglect (30%, primarily participants from the Kaamash-Hu community), and Almost always forgive (36%, primarily people from the Wayuu community). Conclusion: Thus, there is a convergence between the results of this study and the anthropological observations of the participating ethnic communities. Forgiveness is closely linked to the cosmovision of each indigenous group.

Introducción/Objetivos: La voluntad de perdonar ha sido estudiada en diferentes situaciones, sin embargo, no existen estudios publicados en Colombia con población indígena y teniendo en cuenta su cosmovisión. La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo examinar la voluntad a perdonar de personas de diversas minorías étnicas en Colombia como la comunidad Embera, Nasa, Pijao, Kaamash-Hu y centrándose en particular en la comunidad Wayuu. Método: Se presentaron una serie de escenarios a una muestra de 159 adultos indígenas (30% hombres) de entre 18 y 76 años. Dichos escenarios describían una situación común en la que una huerta era dañada por animales domésticos de un vecino. Se manipularon tres factores en cada escenario: la gravedad del daño, el nivel de descuido del dueño de los animales y, las explicaciones y el comportamiento de disculpa del dueño de los animales. Resultados: El análisis de clústeres arrojó cinco posiciones cualitativamente diferentes: Nunca perdona bajo ninguna circunstancia (6% de la muestra, principalmente participantes de la comunidad Embera), Depende de las disculpas y del descuido (15%), Depende de las disculpas, las consecuencias y el descuido (30%, principalmente participantes de la comunidad Kaamash-Hu), y Casi siempre perdona (36%, principalmente personas de la comunidad Wayuu). Conclusiones: Por tanto, existe una convergencia entre los resultados de este estudio y las observaciones antropológicas que condujeron a la decisión de la Unesco de considerar el sistema de justicia restaurativa de la comunidad Wayuu como un patrimonio inalterable.

Association Between Substance Use Behaviors, Developmental Assets and Mental Health: A Glance at Latin American Young College Students.

Positive Youth Development (PYD) is an approach that promotes resilience and focuses on youth strengths rather than their weaknesses as done by the traditional deficit-based perspective. Research in Europe and North America show that developmental assets are associated with school success, psychological well-being, and lower health risks among youth and young adults. However, not much research has been done on these associations in Latin American contexts. The purpose of this research study is to assess the association between substance use behaviors, such as drunkenness and the use of illicit drugs, and mental health, together with the mediating role of developmental assets representing youth strengths (e.g., social competence) and contextual resources (e.g., social support at home or school). Cross-national data was collected from Colombian (n = 210; 70.4% females) and Peruvian (n = 349; 66.5% females) 1st year university students. Results shed light on the protective role of developmental assets regarding substance use behaviors and mental well-being. Specifically, the results showed direct negative associations between developmental assets and substance use behaviors and positive associations of developmental assets with mental health indicators. Internal assets appear to be a stronger predictor of social, emotional, and psychological well-being compared to external assets. We did not find any statistical significance in the association of substance use behavior and mental health. We discuss implications regarding research, policy, and practice.