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Drug Use Highest among American Indian Teens, Lower among BlacksPosted: November 08, 2011
A national analysis of drug abuse among teens found that Native American, Latino and white adolescents have the highest rates of drug-related disorders. The study analyzed federal surveys of more than 72,000 youth between ages 12 and 17. Thirty-seven percent said they had used alcohol or drugs in the past year, and about 8 percent misused substances to the extent that they had a “substance use disorder." After researchers controlled for variables like age and socioeconomic status, they found “elevated odds of substance-related disorders” among Native American, white, Latino and mixed-race teens. African American and Asian youth had the lowest rates of substance use.
The study should underscore the importance of early intervention with youth, which is crucial for successful addiction prevention and treatment said Dan G. Blazer, a Duke University psychiatry professor and co-author of the study. “Substance use is a big problem in this country, and it’s a big problem among adolescents,” he said. “If you identify these individuals (with substance use disorders) early on and get them into treatment in their adolescence, it will hopefully lead to higher levels of responsiveness to treatment and a higher level of abstinence once they enter into adulthood. Identifying the problem and getting them into appropriate treatment programs is extremely important.”
Physicians say factors such as genetics and poverty help explain the high rate of addiction among Native Americans. Sprenger, of the Indian Health Service, says another potential cause is higher levels of psychosocial stress related to experiences such as the loss of culture.
Read the full article on the California Watch website. Read the abstract of the study.
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