Drug Use among White and American Indian High School Youth

Abstract

Data are presented on a sample of white (N = 391) and American Indian (N = 120) high school youth attending the four high schools in the vicinity of Wyoming's Wind River Reservation. For the most part, the Indian youth were members of either the Arapahoe or Shoshone tribes. The general null hypothesis that no significant differences existed between white and Indian youth in either attitudes toward drug use or in the use of drugs was rejected. The data indicate that Indian youth have a more favorable attitude toward the use of marijuana and other drugs than do white youth. Indian youth were also more likely than white youth to try using marijuana and other drugs, but no more likely than whites to continue using such drugs after having tried them.