Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention Programs for American Indians: Needs and Opportunities

• NCJ Number: 129848
• Journal: Journal of Studies on Alcohol Volume: 47 Issue: 3 Dated: (1986) Pages: 187-195
• Author(s): P A May
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 9 pages
• Grant Number(s): T32-MH17144
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Recent attention paid to the problem of alcohol and drug misuse among American Indians, including careful analysis of mortality and morbidity rates as well as susceptibility of Indians to substance abuse, has led to several insights on ways to address the problem.

Abstract

Effective treatment and prevention programs could be implemented using three approaches. The reduction of the adverse medical consequences of substance abuse would be achieved through the development of innovative interventions in the social and physical environments; one possibility in this area is alcohol legalization. Community-based preventive education for reducing alcohol and drug misuse in the future would specifically foster life skills training to help Indian communities deal with early developmental problems that might lead to misuse. Finally, multifaceted rehabilitation programs would combine traditional tribal approaches and modern treatment strategies. 3 tables and 64 references (Author abstract modified)