Spirituality and Religion: Intertwined Protective Factors for Substance Use among Urban American Indian Youth

Abstract

Background and objective: This article explores the aspects of spirituality and religious involvement that may be the protective factors against substance use among urban American Indian (AI) youth. Methods: Data come from AI youth (N = 123) in five urban middle schools in a southwestern metropolis. Results: Ordinary least squares regression analyses indicated that following Christian beliefs and belonging to the Native American Church were associated with lower levels of substance use. Conclusions and Scientific Significance: Following AI traditional spiritual beliefs was associated with antidrug attitudes, norms, and expectancies. Having a sense of belonging to traditions from both AI cultures and Christianity may foster integration of the two worlds in which urban AI youth live.

• urban American Indian
• substance use
• youth
• spirituality
• religion
• Native American

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Data for this study were collected with support from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health (P20-MD002316, F. Marsiglia, PI) for the project “Culturally-Specific Substance Abuse Prevention for Urban American Indian Youth” (E. F. Brown, PI). We acknowledge gratefully the guidance provided to the study by the American Indian Steering Group of the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center at ASU.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.