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Attitudes About Drugs and the Drug Use of Indian Youth

NCJ Number
227785
Journal
American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: 1992 Pages: 38-42
Author(s)
Fred Beauvais Ph.D.
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study examined three attitudes toward drugs and drug use among reservation Indian youth, nonreservation Indian youth, and Anglo youth: the perceived availability of drugs, perceived harm from using drugs, and the intent to use drugs.
Abstract
The older students in all three groups perceived that drugs were "fairly easy" or "very easy" to obtain. Some substances were viewed as easier to obtain than others, with alcohol leading the list, followed closely by marijuana and inhalants. Most younger students perceived that they could obtain alcohol, but the next easiest substance for younger students to obtain was inhalants. Regarding perceived harm from drug use, the most alarming finding was the consistently lower rating of harm from drugs by reservation eighth-grade youth when compared to the rating by the eighth graders in the other two groups and reservation Indian high school seniors. Regarding the intent to use drugs, nearly one-third of reservation Indian eighth graders anticipated that they would use drugs in the future. This compared with 17 percent of nonreservation Indian eighth graders and only 10 percent of Anglo eighth graders. Whatever the reason, young Indian children are developing accepting attitudes about drugs. There is clearly an immediate need for more intensive drug education among young Indian children, particularly those living on reservations. The samples consisted of three groups of students, all of whom were surveyed in 1988-90. All three groups were administered the American Drug and Alcohol Survey under similar classroom conditions. The reservation Indian sample consisted of the 7th-12th grade students who live on reservations. The Anglo and nonreservation Indian groups were part of a separate survey project conducted in junior and senior high schools across the United States. 4 tables and 1 reference