Studies of Substance Abuse with Interventions for the Youth of Native American Indian Community #10 [View all]

Descriptions #5

Research suggests that the etiologic influences of American Indian adolescent substance use are similar to those found for other ethnic groups. Higher levels of alcohol and drug use among American Indian youth can be attributed to poverty and extremely poor social conditions that have exposed them to significantly more risk factors, which may directly or indirectly lead to more alcohol and drug use (Beauvais & LaBoueff, 1985). Life stress is a demonstrated risk factor for substance use (Dick et al., 1993; King et al., 1992; King & Thayer, 1993; LeMaster et al., 2002; Wills, McNamara, Vaccaro, & Hirky, 1997), and adolescence is a period of time when stress pertaining to social, physical, cognitive, and academic growth is enhanced (Dick et al., 1993). As a result, youth are particularly vulnerable to developing potentially harmful methods of coping with stressors that arise within themselves, their immediate environment, or their cultural milieu.

Factors rooted within an individual, such as beliefs and attitudes, tendency to engage in risk behaviors, and psychological distress, contribute to increased rates of adolescent substance use. Among American Indian teens, the perception that substance use is an indicator of adulthood has been suggested as an explanation for an increased tendency to use (Schinke et al., 1985). Similarly, positive expectancies of alcohol’s effects were predictive of higher rates of alcohol problems among urban American Indian teens ( Hawkins, 2002). High-risk behaviors and psychological distress potentially serve as both risk factors for and consequences of substance use. Inhalant users in a sample of urban American Indian youth exhibited higher rates of lifetime conduct disorder and alcohol dependence, more aggressive behavior, more sensation seeking, greater negative emotionality, and lower perceived self-worth than did nonusers (Howard et al., 1999). In another study, distressing life events of death and loss were linked to increased use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco (LeMaster et al., 2002).

Environmental contexts (including community, family, and peer variables) have great impact on the development of substance use and misuse among American Indian and Alaskan Native youth. These sources of primary socialization directly and indirectly communicate social norms and values. The community, which includes elders, schools, law enforcement, and health agencies, among other institutions, plays a vital role in the transmission of what is considered acceptable substance use behavior (Oetting & Donnermeyer, 1998). Youth learn which actions are tolerated or even sanctioned, as well as the consequences for engaging in behavior that falls outside the community’s norms. Likewise, the family conveys powerful messages to youth regarding substance use. Adult models of substance abuse (LeMaster et al., 2002; Weibel-Orlando, 1984) and lack of clear-cut familial sanctions against substance abuse (Oetting, Beauvais, & Edwards, 1988) are associated with increased rates of use among youth.

Some researchers have noted that drinking within families may be one way of maintaining a sense of cohesion and solidarity (O’Nell, 1992–1993; Spicer, 1997). Studies have also suggested that a lack of stability in the home (Garcia-Mason, 1985) and disorientation within family relationships (Albaugh & Albaugh, 1979) are risk factors for substance use. During adolescence, peer influences may be as or more important than family variables in the development of substance use problems. Participation in positive peer clusters is less likely to lead to deviant behaviors, whereas antisocial peer associations and pressures can serve as risk factors for substance use (Oetting, Swaim, Edwards, & Beauvais, 1989).