Substance abuse is a primary concern for youth worldwide and increasingly so for Native American youth. Guided by theoretical models of the socialization of substance use in children and adolescents, we conducted a preliminary examination of socialization factors specific to Native American youth. Strong, pro-social bonds with three primary socialization sources (family, school, and peer networks) were hypothesized to facilitate child self-efficacy and refusal skills and predict drug use. Participants were 84 Native American children between the ages of 9 and 11, living on or near a northern reservation. Structural path analysis results indicated that self-efficacy was predicted from school bonding and peer social skills, while refusal skills were predicted from parent support/involvement and school bonding. Both self-efficacy and refusal skills predicted child drug use/experimentation. This preliminary study expands the limited research available for substance abuse prevention projects specific to rural, reservation-based Native American communities.
Article
Social and Individual Predictors of Substance Use forNative American Youth
Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2007
Disciplines
Abstract
Citation Information
Galliher, R. V., Evans, C. M., & Weiser, D. (2007). Social and individual predictors of substance use for
Native American youth. Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, 16(3), 1 -16.