Literature of Review
The Plight of Native Americans pertains to the genocide that Native Americans experienced in their attempt to negotiate and live in peace with European settlers. Native Americans as individuals and as a community continue to experience negative effects to this day as a result of their forced removal from settled territory along with the disease, warfare, and isolation they experienced. Rees, Freng, and Winfree explain how the plight of Native American populations established a situation where the environmental context of their inclusion in American society is a primary contributor to issues of substance abuse later in development. In order to gain a better understanding of what factors lead to substance abuse among Native Americans, Spear et al. examine the societal context of Native Americans because the urban American Indian faces a unique societal context in contrast to the full spectrum of ethnic communities in the United States. Kropp et al. evaluate the factors affecting the onset of substance abuse, as well as the characteristic profile of Northern Plains American Indians that seek treatment.
Several researches have conducted studies in order to understand the biological cause of substance abuse within Native Americans. Etz et al. outline some of the ethnological methods for understanding the issue of alcoholism in indigenous populations by detailing some reports from survey data, clinical studies and independent research. Ehlers et al. conduct a study which reveals the exact chromosome that creates alcohol dependence within Native American populations. McFarland et al. examine recent trends in organizational and financial arrangements for Native American substance abuse programs and conclude that treatments exist in the form of grants, counseling, therapy, traditional healing, 12 step programs, and other methods of non-medicative treatment.
In this review, I will present an analytical framework detailing the cause and effect of substance abuse within the Native American community. Through examination of the societal context as well as the biological context, I will be able to explain which form of treatments are most effective in the following discussion.
Citations:
- Kropp, F., Somoza, E., Lilleskov, M., Moccasin, M. G., Moore, M., Lewis, D., & ... Winhusen, T. (2013). Characteristics of Northern Plains American Indians Seeking Substance Abuse Treatment in an Urban, Non-Tribal Clinic: A Descriptive Study. Community Mental Health Journal, http://link.springer.com.proxy.library.emory.edu/article/10.1007/s10597-012-9537-7/fulltext.html
- Spear, S., Crevecoeur-MacPhail, D., Denering, L., Dickerson, D., & Brecht, M. (2013). Determinants of Successful Treatment Outcomes Among a Sample of Urban American Indians/Alaska Natives: the Role of Social Environments. Journal Of Behavioral Health Services & Research, https://web-b-ebscohost-com.proxy.library.emory.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f249cdaa-e128-4097-86b8-5fb67b65e646%40sessionmgr112&vid=16&hid=106
- Etz, K. E., Arroyo, J. A., Crump, A. D., Rosa, C. L., & Scott, M. S. (2012). Advancing American Indian and Alaska Native Substance Abuse Research: Current Science and Future Directions. American Journal Of Drug & Alcohol Abuse,38(5), http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00952990.2012.712173
- Ehlers, C. L., Liang, T., & Gizer, I. R. (2012). ADH and ALDH Polymorphisms and Alcohol Dependence in Mexican and Native Americans. American Journal Of Drug & Alcohol Abuse, 38(5), http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00952990.2012.694526
- Rees, C. c., Freng, A. a., & Winfree, L. l. (2014). The Native American Adolescent: Social Network Structure and Perceptions of Alcohol Induced Social Problems. Journal Of Youth & Adolescence, 43(3), 405-425.
- McFarland, Bentson, et al. "Organization And Financing Of Alcohol And Substance Abuse Programs For American Indians And Alaska Natives." American Journal Of Public Health 96.8 (2006): 1469-1477. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.498.5299&rep=rep1&type=pdf