Drinking Behavior and Sources of Alcohol: Differences Between Native American and White Youths

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: We investigated drinking behavior and sources of alcohol among Native American and White youths, as well as how underage drinking behavior and sources of alcohol may be related to environmental factors. Method: Survey data from a sample of 18,916 youths (8th, 10th, and 12th grades) from Montana were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Survey data were supplemented with county-level economic and census data. Results: Native American youths were more likely than White youths to report drinking and heavy episodic drinking and initiate drinking at a younger age. Native Americans were less likely than Whites to get alcohol from home or from someone younger than age 21 but were more likely to get it from other social sources or through theft from a store. Living in a county with more Native Americans was inversely related to access to alcohol for both White and Native American youths, as well as reduced lifetime, 30-day, and heavy episodic drinking. Living in a county with more single-parent households was positively related to lifetime drinking, 30-day drinking, heavy episodic drinking, and increased access to alcohol through someone younger than age 21 or a stranger. Median income was negatively related to lifetime drinking and ease of access to alcohol and was positively related to accessing alcohol from home without permission, theft, or purchase with a fake ID.

The Prospective Association Between Sipping Alcohol by the Sixth Grade and Later Substance Use

“…Offering even a sip of alcohol may undermine such messages, particularly among younger children who tend to have more concrete thinking and may be unable to understand the difference between drinking a sip and drinking several drinks. In addition, parents should be encouraged to secure and monitor alcohol in the home (Friese et al, 2011), and given our reports of accidental consumption, parents should monitor their own beverages-children may intentionally or, as our data show, inadvertently take a sip. Of note, children who report having been asked by adults in the home to fetch or pour alcohol are shown to have greater odds of sipping alcohol (Jackson et al, 2013).…”

Hospitalization for Underage Drinkers in the United States

“…Third, even in hospitalized patients, alcohol consumption may be underreported by the patient, family, or the discharging physician. Although different ethnic groups in different geographic regions in the United States may have disparate beliefs and cultural attitudes about the amount and pattern of drinking in youth, its harmful effects on the individual and society at large are substantial, and its reduction will require concerted efforts by parents and families, schools, and various levels of government [8,9]. Our data suggest strategic approaches targeted to high-risk racial and geographic subgroups maybe guided by incidence rates of alcohol related hospitalizations as a quantifiable parameter and surrogate performance benchmark.…”

“This is the way we were raised”: Alcohol beliefs and acculturation in relation to alcohol consumption among Native Americans

“…Most recently, research has focused on alcohol use among Native American youth. Findings suggest that although Native American youth report alcohol use as having a negative effect on their relationships at rates similar to other youth (Rees, Freng, & Winfree, 2014), they are still more likely than White youth to report alcohol use and binge drinking (Friese & Grube, 2008) and are more likely to report initiating alcohol use at a younger age (Friese, Grube, Seninger, Paschall, & Moore, 2011). Other research has pointed to the effect that individual, family, and community factors have on alcohol use (Dick, Manson, & Beals, 1993;HeavyRunner-Rioux & Hollist, 2010;Rodgers & Fleming, 2003;Walls, Whitbeck, Hoyt, & Johnson, 2007), along with rationales and expectancies (Conner & Conner, 1992;Binion, Miller, Beauvais, & Oetting, 1988).…”