Substance use and conduct disorders are common amongarrested North American Indigenous youth and increase theirlikelihood of arrest

In North America, substance misuse is very common among young people involved with the juvenile justice system, and even more so among American Indian and Canadian First Nations youth. In new research, Kelley J. Sittner examines the relationship between substance use disorder and other mental disorders such as conduct disorder and ADHD among indigenous young people. She finds that the rates of conduct disorder and substance use disorder were almost twice as large among the arrested than non-arrested adolescents, and that those young people with such disorders were three or four times more likely to be arrested than those without

Factors associated with Indigenous youths' abstinence from drinking

The proportion of youth who abstain from alcohol use decreases during adolescence but little attention has focused on factors associated with abstinence. No research has examined this question for Indigenous youth, many of whom live in communities experiencing high rates of alcohol-related health problems. Using data from a longitudinal study of Indigenous youth (n = 649, ages 10–17 years) in the U.S. and Canada, the current study investigates factors associated promoting or decreasing abstaining from alcohol use. Results from generalized linear growth models demonstrate that abstinence declines significantly during adolescence. In concurrent models, caretaker monitoring and school adjustment increased the odds of abstaining, and frequency of smoking cigarettes and number of best friends who drink decreased the odds. In lagged analysis, only school adjustment, smoking, and peer drinking remained significant. Time-stable characteristics moderated several time-varying associations. This study has important implications for programs aimed at encouraging alcohol abstinence.Peer reviewedSociolog

Trajectories of substance use: Onset and adverse outcomes among North American Indigenous adolescents

North American Indigenous communities experience disproportionately high rates of substance use, abuse, and dependence and their accompanying consequences. This study uses group-based trajectory modeling of past-year substance use (alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes) with a longitudinal sample of Indigenous adolescents from the northern Midwest and Canada (spanning ages 10–18 years). The early-onset trajectory (36.3%) had more adverse psychosocial difficulties at baseline than the mid-onset group (38.3%); both trajectories were associated with several negative outcomes at the end of the study. The late-onset trajectory (25.3%) did not initiate substance use until later adolescence and had far better outcomes at the last wave of the study. Timing of onset matters. Prevention efforts should begin in late childhood and continue through mid-adolescence.Peer reviewedSociolog

Moderators of the association between exposure to violence in community, family, and dating contexts and substance use disorder risk among North American Indigenous adolescents

Exposure to violence and substance abuse are salient public health concerns among Indigenous people (i.e., American Indian and Canadian First Nations). Despite this, little research has examined the association between the two among community-based reservation/reserve samples, or factors within the broader social environment that may moderate this association. As such, the purpose of the study is to examine ecological moderators of the association between direct (i.e., dating violence victimization) and indirect (i.e., current perceptions of community violence and prospective caretaker-reported victimization exposure) exposure to violence and meeting diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder among a large longitudinal sample of Indigenous youth and their caretakers in the upper-Midwest of the United States and Canada (N = 521). Data come from the last two waves of the study, when the adolescents were between the ages of 16 and 19 years. The results show relatively high rates of direct and indirect violence exposure by late adolescence. Logistic regression models with added interaction terms were examined to test moderating effects. Per capita family income and remote location both amplified the positive association between current community violence exposure and substance use disorder risk. Family warmth and support buffered the association between caretaker victimization exposure and substance use disorder risk, whereas dating violence victimization exposure amplified this association. The findings are contextualized for Indigenous communities, and substance abuse prevention and intervention implications are discussed.Peer reviewedSociolog

North American Indigenous Adolescent Substance Use

Objectives—To investigate growth in problem drinking and monthly marijuana use among North American Indigenous adolescents from the upper Midwest and Canada. Methods—Panel data from a community-based participatory research project includes responses from 619 adolescents residing on or near 7 different reservations/reserves. All respondents were members of the same Indigenous cultural group. Results—Rates of problem drinking and monthly marijuana use increased steadily across the adolescent years, with fastest growth occurring in early adolescence (before age 15). In general, female participants reported higher rates of substance use prior to age 15; however, male reports of use surpassed those of females in later adolescence. Conclusions—Results of this study highlight the importance of early adolescent substance use prevention efforts and the possible utility of gender responsive programming

Predicting the Onset of Alcohol Use and the Development of Alcohol Use Disorder Among Indigenous Adolescents

Empirical efforts to identify the predictors of drinking behavior among North American Indigenous adolescents are relatively limited. Using longitudinal data, this study considers perceived discrimination, positive drinker prototypes, and peer drinking behavior as risk factors for the onset of alcohol use and development of an alcohol use disorder among 674 Indigenous adolescents as they progressed from early to late adolescence (M age at baseline = 11.11, SD = 0.83). Results showed that positive drinker prototypes and associations with peers who drink increased the risk for the onset of drinking, while perceived discrimination and associations with peers who drink increased the risk for the development of an alcohol use disorder. The theoretical and practical implications of our results are discussed

Prospective Childhood Risk Factors for Gang Involvement among North American Indigenous Adolescents

The purpose of the study was to examine prospective childhood risk factors for gang involvement across the course of adolescence among a large eight-year longitudinal sample of 646 Indigenous (i.e., American Indian and Canadian First Nations) youth residing on reservation/reserve land in the Midwest of the United States and Canada. Risk factors at the first wave of the study (ages 10–12) were used to predict gang involvement (i.e., gang membership and initiation) in subsequent waves (ages 11–18). A total of 6.7% of the participants reported gang membership and 9.1% reported gang initiation during the study. Risk factors were distributed across developmental domains (e.g., family, school, peer, and individual) with those in the early delinquency domain having the strongest and most consistent effects. Moreover, the results indicate that the cumulative number of risk factors in childhood increases the probability of subsequent gang involvement. Culturally relevant implications and prevention/intervention strategies are discussed

Correlates of bullying behaviors among a sample of North American Indigenous adolescents

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between familial, educational, and psychosocial factors and bullying among 702 North American Indigenous adolescents aged 11–14 years. The study used multinomial logistic regression models to differentiate correlates of bully perpetration and victimization versus being neither and between being a perpetrator versus being a victim. Analyses reveal that being a bully victim had different correlates than being a perpetrator. Perceived discrimination was associated with increased odds of being either a victim or a perpetrator, relative to being neither. Several factors differentiated being a bully perpetrator from being a bully victim: adolescent age, parental warmth and support, depressive symptoms, anger, and school adjustment. These findings expand upon the limited understanding of the factors associated with bullying among North American Indigenous youth. Bullying intervention and prevention programs that target Indigenous adolescents should be culturally grounded and begin early within the family

Correlates of Homeless Episodes among Indigenous People

This study reports the correlates of homeless episodes among 873 Indigenous adults who are part of an ongoing longitudinal study on four reservations in the Northern Midwest and four Canadian First Nation reserves. Descriptive analyses depict differences between those who have and have not experienced an episode of homelessness in their lifetimes. Multivariate analyses assess factors associated with a history of homeless episodes at the time of their first interview. Results show that individuals with a history of homeless episodes had significantly more individual and family health, mental health, and substance abuse problems. Periods of homelessness also were associated with financial problems. Among the female caretakers who experienced episodes of homelessness over the course of the study, the majority had been homeless at least once prior to the start of the study and approximately one–fifth met criteria for lifetime alcohol dependence, drug abuse, or major depression. Family adversity during childhood was also common for women experiencing homelessness during the study

Latent trajectories and profiles of commercial cigarette smoking frequency from adolescence to young adulthood among North American Indigenous people

Introduction: North American Indigenous people (ie, American Indian/Alaska Native and Canadian First Nations) have the highest rates of commercial cigarette smoking, yet little is known about long-term trajectories of use among this population. The purpose of this study is to examine heterogeneous trajectories and profiles of Indigenous cigarette use frequency from early adolescence (mean age: 11.1 years) to young adulthood (mean age: 26.3 years).Aims and Methods: Data come from a nine-wave prospective longitudinal study spanning early adolescence through young adulthood among Indigenous people in the Upper Midwest of the United States and Canada (N = 706). Smoking frequency was examined at each wave, and latent class growth analysis was used to examine heterogeneous patterns. Early adolescent and young adult demographics and smoking-related characteristics were examined across these latent trajectory groups.Results: In young adulthood, 52% of participants smoked daily/near-daily, and an additional 10% smoked weekly or monthly. Four latent trajectory groups emerged: low/non-smokers (35.2%) who had low probabilities of smoking across the study; occasional smokers (17.2%) who had moderate probabilities of smoking throughout adolescence and declining probabilities of smoking into young adulthood; mid-adolescent onset smokers (21.6%) who showed patterns of smoking onset around mid-adolescence and escalated to daily use in young adulthood; and early-adolescent onset smokers (25.9%) who showed patterns of onset in early adolescence and escalated to stable daily use by late adolescence.Conclusions: The findings suggest multiple critical periods of smoking risk, as well as a general profile of diverse smoking frequency patterns, which can inform targeted intervention and treatment programming.Implications: Nearly two-thirds (62%) of this sample of Indigenous people were current smokers by early adulthood (mean age = 26.3 years), which is substantially higher than national rates in the United States and Canada. Moreover, in all but one trajectory group, smoking prevalence consistently increased over time, suggesting these rates may continue to rise into adulthood. The longitudinal mixture modeling approach used in this study shows that smoking patterns are heterogeneous, and implications for public health policy likely vary across these diverse patterns characterized by timing of onset of use, escalation in frequency of use, and stability/change over time.Peer reviewedSociolog