From Early to Late Adolescence: American Indian Youth's Behavioral Trajectories and Their Major Influences

• NCJ Number: 219322
• Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 46 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2007 Pages: 849-858
• Author(s): Arlene Rubin Stiffman Ph.D.; Benjamin Alexander-Eitzman M.S.W.; Hiie Silmere M.S.W.; Victoria Osborne M.S.W.; Eddie Brown D.S.W.
• Date Published: July 2007
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): K02 MH01797-01A1; R24DA13572-0; R01 DA13227-01
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study identifies behavioral trajectories of American Indian adolescents and examines their predictors.

Abstract

Some trajectories indicate that youths improve their behavior over time. The findings support the position that behavior over time reflects a change in psychological and environmental characteristics and that a substantial portion of adolescents with clinically significant youth self-report (YSR) total scores improve over time. Specifically, over time the high improving group had substance use and depression drop, family satisfaction increase, fewer parents with mental health or addiction problems, fewer peers using substances, and a decrease in neighborhood problems and stressors. Little is known about behavioral trajectories across adolescence, and less is known about the potential predictors of different trajectories. This study addresses that knowledge gap in a population of American Indian youths; a group that has higher rates of addictions and mental health problems than many other groups. A total of 401 urban and reservation American Indian adolescents were interviewed yearly from 2001 to 2004. Tables, figure, references