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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Benjamin Alexander-Eitzman, MSW, LCSW¹, Arlene Rubin Stiffman, PhD¹, Hiie Silmere, MSW¹, Victoria Osborne, MSW¹, and Eddie Brown, DSW². (1) George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1196, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899, 314-935-8032, baeitzman@gwbmail.wustl.edu, (2) Arizona State University, Box 4603, Tempe, AZ 85287

Background: American Indian youth have high rates of mental illness, substance use, and other behavioral problems. This paper examines the predictors of different behavioral trajectories among 385 American Indian adolescents, half urban and half reservation based, who were interviewed over four consecutive years as part of the NIDA funded AIM-HI Project. Methods: The Youth Self-Report measured at each time point provides the basis for identifying trajectory groups using a group-based modeling method. Psychological and environmental variables were screened for significant differences and then entered into a multinomial logistic model to determine unique predictors of group membership. Results: Five distinct groups were identified using this method, two of which had a significant quadratic term. Two of the three groups clinically significant problem behaviors at the first time point started at almost the same YSR score, but one group made major improvements over the four years (high improving, n = 30) while the other made no improvements in behavior (high chronic, n = 33). Living on the reservation (OR = 5.94), higher family satisfaction (OR = 1.14), and less school problems (OR = 0.84) were significant predictors of group membership in the high improving group versus the high chronic group. Discussion: Interviews with urban and reservation representatives revealed that the urban area initiated no new programs, but the reservation implemented multifaceted family and youth addictions, mental health, recreational, cultural, and economic interventions. Further implications and limitations are discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Understand the need for mental health and substance abuse services among American Indian adolescents.
• Understand the concepts involved in group-based trajectory modeling methods.
• Discuss how knowledge of behavioral trajectories among American-Indian adolescents in reservation versus urban populations can be applied to future intervention research

Keywords: American Indians, Adolescents

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered