Suicide and Substance Use Disorder Prevention for Rural American Indian and Alaska Native Youth

Abstract

Some of the most stimulating and innovative work in prevention science over the past two decades has surfaced in recent efforts with rural American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities directed toward addressing youth suicide and substance use disorders (SUD). This chapter provides an overview of several notable research efforts over the past two decades in order to glean what we have learned and what we have yet to learn. The intent of this review is to pose fresh research questions, highlight promising methodologies and approaches, and guide future intervention efforts. To set the stage, basic epidemiological data on AIAN suicide and SUD and their co-occurrence, and important contextual factors that inform some of the implications of these basic findings will be reviewed. With this explored, we next review the literature on relevant rural intervention efforts among AIAN youth in order to highlight major, recurrent findings and common approaches. We then review key intervention processes and characteristics. In doing this, we do not attempt to compare intervention effectiveness, which assumes a degree of equivalence across intervention efforts (e.g., outcome, sample, measurement) that we cannot ascertain from these studies. Finally, we discuss what has been learned about effective practices and approaches in suicide and SUD prevention with rural AIAN youth, critical shortcomings in current work, and promising practices and directions for future work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)