Culturally Tailoring a Substance Use Intervention Among Southeastern Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Youth

In the United States, post European-colonial influence and exposure to
substances such as alcohol historically mark the beginning of substance use exposure
and involvement among all American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people.
Research findings indicate there are strong interrelationships between the origin and
prevalence of substance use and U.S.-European colonization, historical trauma, forced
assimilation, cultural losses, and relocation among urban AI/AN people (Burt, 1986;
Clinton, Chadwick, & Bahr, 1975; Yuan et al., 2010). In an historical sense, the
unsuccessful attempts of relocating AI/AN people to urban areas place the future
generations of urban AI/AN youth at risk for substance use, health conditions, and
health disparities. Nationally, incident rates of substance use among urban AI/AN
populations ages 12 and over is rising steadily, two to three folds higher than other
ethnicities in urban areas within states such as Florida. The overall objective of this study is to culturally tailor the evidence-based Lowe (2013) Cherokee Talking Circle
Intervention for substance use prevention among Cherokee adolescents to that of an
Urban Taking Circle Intervention for use among urban AI/AN adolescents in Florida.
Therefore, the feasibility of culturally tailoring this substance use intervention among a
southeastern urban AI/AN youth was examined and presented within this dissertation.