ABSTRACT. Objective: Previous research suggests that substance use among American Indian youth is associated with disproportionate rates of morbidity and substance misuse. Additional work to understand risk and protective factors for alcohol use is needed. The current study examined the role of school bonding in buffering the effect of peer alcohol use on a student's own alcohol use among American Indian adolescents. Method: The present study is part of a larger examination of alcohol use among American Indian youth. Survey data were collected from middle and high school students during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years from 37 school districts in the United States. The sample consisted of 2,582 students ages 11-19 years: 1,606 were younger than 16, and 976 were age 16 or older. All students self-identifi ed as American Indian or Alaskan Native. The sample was approximately equally divided by gender (49% male). Results: For all students, peer alcohol use was a risk factor for (a) lifetime alcohol use and (b) level of alcohol use among users. School bonding was associated with a lower likelihood of lifetime alcohol use for adolescents younger than age 16 and a lower level of use among users for all adolescents. School bonding emerged as a protective factor that buffers against peer alcohol use among adolescent alcohol users younger than 16. Conclusions: Results of the study demonstrate the infl uence of exposure to alcohol-using peers and the protective role of school bonding on alcohol use among American Indian adolescents. Implications for prevention are discussed. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 73, 597-603, 2012)

This study examined the relationships between adolescent alcohol use and outcome expectancies and descriptive norms for a sample of American Indian and white youth living on or near reservations. Three outcome expectancies proposed by the theory of normative social behavior (perceived benefits to self, perceived benefits to others, and anticipatory socialization) were examined. Survey data were collected from high school students in the 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011-2012 school years. Stronger descriptive norms for use and higher perceived benefits to self from use were associated with alcohol use in the last month, drunkenness in the last month, and binge drinking. Perceived benefits to self also moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and both alcohol use in the last month and binge drinking, and the effect of descriptive norms on use became more robust as perceived benefits to self increased. Outcome expectancies of perceived benefits to others and anticipatory socialization did not moderate the relationship between norms and alcohol use. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Introduction American Indian adolescents residing on reservations report high levels of marijuana use. Understanding the relationships between normative mechanisms and marijuana use in this group can be especially important in designing effective strategies to prevent use. Methods Participants were 3,446 students identifying as American Indian in grades 7th – 12th across four academic years (2009–2012) from 45 schools. Multilevel logistic analysis was used to examine the relationships between lifetime, last month, and frequent marijuana use and measures of the normative environment. Results Descriptive and injunctive norms were distinctly and directly associated with all measures of marijuana use, with family injunctive norms showing a strong relationship to use (.49 < OR < .58 for a 9th grade student). Family injunctive norms moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and lifetime and last month use (OR = .79 and .82, respectively), with higher family disapproval associated with a weaker relationship between descriptive norms and use. Anticipatory socialization was positively related to all measures of marijuana use, with the relationship stronger for lifetime and last month use than for frequent use (OR=1.88, 1.74, and 1.30, respectively). A contextual variable of descriptive norms was related to lifetime and last month use (OR=1.66 and 1.51, respectively) but not frequent use. Conclusions These findings reinforce the importance of parental norms in reducing the likelihood of using marijuana. In addition, prevention strategies that increase the perception that healthy behaviors not involving marijuana use are an enjoyable way to socialize may be more effective in preventing occasional marijuana use.

The present study examined the influence of descriptive norms, injunctive norms, perceived outcome expectancies, and ethnicity on marijuana and inhalant use among 2334 American Indian and white high school students who lived on or near reservations in the United States. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted with survey data collected during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years. Results suggest differences between ethnicities in the influence of the normative environment and outcome expectancies on both marijuana and inhalant use. Study limitations are noted, and future research is suggested.

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