Factors Associated with Indigenous Youths’ Abstinence from Drinking

• In Event: 368 - Section on Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Alcohol Consumption Across the Globe

Abstract

The proportion of youth who abstain from alcohol use decreases steadily over the course of adolescence. Prior research is mixed regarding whether abstainers are better or worse adjusted than drinkers, although no research has examined this question for Indigenous youth. Yet this is an important topic considering the high rates of alcohol-related health disparities in many Indigenous communities. Using data from a longitudinal study of Indigenous youth and their families from the northern Midwest and Canada, I investigate risk and protective factors associated with alcohol use. Results from hierarchical generalized linear models demonstrate that increases in positive parenting and school adjustment were associated with increased odds of abstaining. Increases in the number of best friends who drink and in the frequency of smoking cigarettes decreased the odds. Early pubertal development was associated with lower odds of abstaining at baseline. No sex differences in abstaining were observed. Parents and schools are critical in encouraging abstinence from alcohol use as well as in reducing the risk factors that inhibit it.

Author

• Kelley J. Sittner, Oklahoma State University