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Journal Article

Citation

Joyce M, Westerberg V, Matthews M. J. Juv. Justice 2015; 4(2): 1-12.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, In Public Domain (U.S. Department of Justice OJJDP), Publisher CSR)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Adolescent substance use has been called "America's #1 public health problem," and adolescence is understood as the critical period for the initiation of substance use and its consequences (The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 2011). By late middle school almost 30% of adolescents in the United States have drunk alcohol and nearly 31% have tried marijuana (Eaton et al., 2012). Considerable evidence links early substance use to a number of downstream negative effects such as impulsivity, alienation, and psychological distress (Hansell & White, 1991) and development of cannabis use disorder (Chen, O'Brien, & Anthony, 2005). Kenneson, Funderburk, and Maisto (2013) reported that adolescent-onset substance use was associated with developing a secondary mood disorder in adulthood. For American Indian youth, these issues are particularly acute. DeRavello, Everett Jones, Tulloch, Taylor, and Doshi, (2014) investigated the prevalence of risk behaviors in adolescent American Indian and Alaska Native youth and found odds ratios higher than for White students on 18 of 26 risk variables.

Adolescent suicide is the second leading cause of death--and 2.5 times higher than the national average--for American Indian and Alaska Native youth in the 15 to 24 year-old age group (Centers for Disease Control, 2012). This study investigates the outcomes associated with a short-term residential treatment program serving American Indian youth (n = 2,103) referred by law enforcement personnel for substance use issues that did not warrant detention. The youth, aged 12 to 17, came from a large area of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. Survey data were examined over a 10-year span and significant changes were found in the desired direction on a dozen indicators of substance use, juvenile delinquency, and well-being that appeared to persist for at least a year following first admission to the program.

The reductions in substance use compared favorably to reductions in substance use for other adolescent treatment programs. These results have implications for enhancing interventions to address substance use and delinquency among American Indian adolescents.

This project was supported by Grant #2010-TY-FX-0005 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Marianne Joyce, Joyce Planning and Development, P.O. Box 1196, Gallup, New Mexico 87305. E-mail: mjoyce@joyceplanning.com

Keywords: treatment programs, Native Americans, early intervention, substance use, delinquency prevention, juvenile justice


Language: en

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