Assessing alcohol and other drug prevention needs among Indigenous youth ages 13–17: Developing a culturally grounded Indigenous youth harm reduction intervention

Abstract

Perceptions of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, harm reduction, and culture were examined among 10 U.S. Indigenous youth 13–17 years of age. Key findings were contextualized within the four constructs of Indigenous relationality: (a) youth understand the harms of AOD use (people); (b) youth appreciate non-abstinence-based education (ideas); (c) youth need safe spaces to talk about the impacts of AOD use (place); and (d) youth desire to help prevent AOD harms for themselves and others (cosmos). Findings from this community-based participatory study serve as the theoretical foundation to support the development of an Indigenous youth harm reduction intervention to prevent AOD use and related harms among urban Indigenous youth in the Pacific Northwest.

Keywords:

• Harm reduction
• American Indian/Alaska Native youth
• Indigenous young adults
• alcohol and other drugs
• culture
• prevention
• CBPR

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Urban Native Education Alliance Board and Seattle Clear Sky Native Youth Council participants, parents, volunteers, and staff for their support and participation.

Declaration of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.