The findings show that Native-American children's and youths' level of self-esteem and refusal skills had a direct influence on the likelihood of drug experimentation and the number of drugs tried. Level of self-esteem was related to school bonding and peer social skills; whereas, refusal skills were predicted from parent support/involvement in addition to school bonding. These findings show the importance of prosocial links to the school setting in developing both a sense of general competence and the subjective confidence needed to refuse unhealthy behaviors and drug/alcohol offers. Prevention efforts, therefore, should focus on increasing students' school bonding. Interventions that enhance student and parent connection to the school setting may be particularly important in Native-American communities, given the history of young Native-Americans' difficulty in adjusting to and performing well in formal educational environments. Participants were 84 Native-American children (54 percent were boys) between the ages of 9 and 11 who were living on or near a northern reservation. The children were participating with a parent figure in a comprehensive program designed to prevent substance abuse by at-risk Native-American children. Families were recruited through advertisements and flyers posted throughout the reservation, referrals from tribal social services agencies, and informal contact with project personnel. Parents and children independently completed questionnaires. Children completed the Children's Instrument developed for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. It provided information related to parent support/involvement, school bonding, social confidence (peer social skills), self-esteem, refusal skills, and drug use. Parent questionnaires addressed demographic information on the parent and child, descriptive information about family living arrangements, and the history of substance use/abuse by the parent and other family members. 2 tables, 2 figures, and 29 references