Substance Use Patterns among High-Risk American Indians/Alaska Natives in Los Angeles County

  1. Daniel L. Dickerson DO, MPH1,2,
  2. Dennis G. Fisher PhD3,
  3. Grace L. Reynolds DPA3,
  4. Safia Baig BA3,
  5. Lucy E. Napper PhD3,
  6. M. Douglas Anglin PhD2

Article first published online: 26 JUL 2012

DOI: 10.1111/j.1521-0391.2012.00258.x

Issue

The American Journal on Addictions

The American Journal on Addictions

Volume 21, Issue 5, pages 445–452, September/October 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Dickerson, D. L., Fisher, D. G., Reynolds, G. L., Baig, S., Napper, L. E. and Anglin, M. D. (2012), Substance Use Patterns among High-Risk American Indians/Alaska Natives in Los Angeles County. The American Journal on Addictions, 21: 445–452. doi: 10.1111/j.1521-0391.2012.00258.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    United American Indian Involvement, Inc. (UAII), Los Angeles, California

  2. 2

    UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP), Los Angeles, California

  3. 3

    Center for Behavioral Research and Services, California State University, Long Beach, California

*Dr. Dickerson, UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP) 1640 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90025-7535. E-mail: daniel.dickerson@ucla.edu.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 10 AUG 2012
  2. Article first published online: 26 JUL 2012
  3. Received April 19, 2011; revised May 10, 2011; accepted July 8, 2011.

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Background: Substance abuse among American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) is a significant and long-standing health problem in the U.S. Two-thirds of American AIs/ANs reside in the urban setting. However, studies analyzing substance use characteristics among urban AI/ANs are very limited.  Methods:Substance use patterns among a sample of AI/ANs (n = 77) and other ethnic/racial groups in Los Angeles County at high risk of substance abuse were analyzed utilizing three datasets from programs targeting individuals at high risk for substance abuse and risky sexual behaviors.  Results:Compared to all other ethnic/racial groups, AI/ANs demonstrated significantly younger age of onset of alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine, and “other” drug use, higher correlations of age of first use of amphetamine with a measure of the drug's reinforcement, and higher mean number of illicit drug injections in the 30 days before being interviewed.  Conclusions:Results from this study highlight a critical need for furthering our understanding of substance abuse problems among urban AI/ANs.(Am J Addict 2012;00:1–8)

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