Alcohol and substance use prevention programs for youth in Hawaii and Pacific Islands: A literature review

Abstract

This article provides a literature review of recent programs to prevent alcohol and substance use in Hawaii and Pacific Islander youths. Five programs for alcohol and substance use prevention among Hawaii and Pacific Islander youths were found in peer-reviewed literature. Of these, two focused on Native Hawaiians and/or other Pacific Islanders and three focused on overall youths in Hawaii. The main themes of these programs were increasing cultural pride, character development through personal efficacy and integrity, connecting youth to family and community, and being school- or community-centered. Two studies showed a decrease in substance use, one showed a change in knowledge, and two did not published outcomes. This review highlights a lack of evidence-based culturally appropriate options for preventing substance use by Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander youth. Dialogue about best practices is needed and should be supported through publication of program evaluations.

Parental support, parent–adolescent conflict, and substance use of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander youth: Ethnic differences in stress-buffering and vulnerability effects.

“…These findings highlight the critical need to develop culturally specific, family-focused prevention interventions for these youth populations. For NHOPI youth, there are very few culturally specific substance abuse prevention programs tailored to their values, beliefs, and worldviews, and none to date that specifically target the immediate or extended family as the focus of the intervention (Durand, Cook, Konishi, & Nigg, 2016; Edwards et al, 2010). However, a culturally grounded, school-based drug prevention curriculum being evaluated in rural Hawai‘i has shown promising results through focusing on the cultural and familial context as part of drug resistance skills training (Okamoto et al, 2016).…”

Alcohol consumption and consequences in adolescents in 68 low and middle-income countries – a multi-country comparison of risks by sex

“…Culturally focused alcohol interventions are available but require more rigorous evaluation before they can be recommended with confidence (Foxcroft et al, 2003;Wang-Schweig et al, 2014). Some examples of culturally targeted programs involve increasing cultural pride, increasing personal efficacy and integrity, and engaging adolescents to family and community (Durand et al, 2016;Liddell and Burnette, 2017).…”

The Validation of a School-Based, Culturally Grounded Drug Prevention Curriculum for Rural Hawaiian Youth

“…These programs have focused on Mexican/Mexican American youth, African American youth, and American Indian youth, respectively. Despite the drug intervention needs of Native Hawaiian youth, there have been no culturally grounded, evidence-based drug prevention programs developed and evaluated specifically for this population outside of the intervention described in the present study (Durand et al, 2015; Rehuher, Hiramatsu, & Helm, 2008). This is a particular issue for rural Hawaiian youth, as substance use has been identified as a primary cause of health disparities in these youth’s communities (Withy et al, 2007).…”

“…They have also been found to have an increased number of school absences, suspensions, and infractions (Hishinuma et al, 2006), and higher rates of unsafe sexual practices (Ramisetty-Mikler, Caetano, Goebert, & Nishimura, 2004) and suicidal behaviors (Else, Andrade, & Nahulu, 2007) associated with substance use. Despite these issues, there has been a lack of drug prevention or intervention programs tailored specifically for Native Hawaiian youth (Durand, Cook, Konishi, & Nigg, 2015; Edwards, Giroux, & Okamoto, 2010). More research is necessary to address this gap, in order to address substance use and related disorders for Native Hawaiian youth.…”