Abstract
This paper details a four-stage methodology for developing early alcohol interventions for at-risk Aboriginal youth. Stage 1 was an integrative approach to Aboriginal education that upholds Aboriginal traditional wisdom supporting respectful relationships to the Creator, to the land and to each other. Stage 2 used quantitative methods to investigate associations between personality risk factors and risky drinking motives. Stage 3 used qualitative interviews to further understand the contexts and circumstances surrounding drinking behaviour within a larger cultural context. Stage 3 involved tailoring personality-matched, motive-specific brief interventions to meet at-risk adolescents' needs. Stage 4 involved an efficacy test of the interventions. This novel methodology has significance for future program development to meet diverse social, cultural and health needs of at-risk adolescents.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 296-309 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2010 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgements Funding support for the methodology within First Nation communities was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Emerging Team grant, a CIHR Investigator Award to Dr. Sherry Stewart, Dalhousie University, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Foundation, and the Canada Research Chairs Program, Integrative Science, SSHRC. The authors of this paper wish to thank the First Nations adolescents who participated in this research; the Elders who provided their experience, knowledge, and expertise in guiding the early work; and the school personnel who were integral in all aspects of data collection. We also thank Pamela Collins, Ellen Rhyno, Marc Zahradnik and all members of Anxiety & Alcohol Research Laboratory, Dalhousie University for their support. We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Cheryl Bartlett, Director Institute for Integrative Science and Health, Integrative science students and team members of Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia who contributed to this project by facilitating and financially supporting our attendance and inclusion in a cultural exchange on health and healing in a First Nations community in Nova Scotia. Special thanks are extended to Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector David Wojcik and participating members of the Aboriginal & Diversity Policing Services “H” Division (Nova Scotia) for their significant financial and in-kind contribution, inspiration and leadership. We would also like to acknowledge the staff, counselors and students of participating schools and the Mi’kmaq First Nation communities. Finally, we would like to thank artist Vincent Walsh for communication design and Alexa Thompson for her production assistance in manual layout.
Funding Information:
The methodology on which the pilot project (Comeau 2004; Comeau and Stewart 2005) is based has inter-provincial and national significance for future program development to meet diverse cultural and health related needs of adolescents in Aboriginal communities in affiliation with the RCMP and other policing partners. In line with the Government of Canada’s priority to build stronger Aboriginal communities, the RCMP, provincial police forces and First Nations police forces are committed to bring a greater focus to this area of policing by dealing with the various challenges Aboriginal peoples face both on and off reserves. This collaboration is timely considering the disproportionately high level of tragic suffering from alcohol and other drug abuse and suicide among Aboriginal peoples across Canada (Chandler et al. 2003). Further, this collaboration aims to provide mechanisms for creative methods of promoting crime and substance abuse prevention and improved mental health, particularly among Aboriginal young people. Thus, strong links to partners in the community, including schools and other social or youth oriented agencies, is a priority. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Foundation (MPF) was a primary sponsor of this pilot project. The generous MPF contribution was matched by funding support from Dr. Cheryl Bartlett, the Canada Research Chair in Integrative Science at Cape Breton University (CBU). Integrative Science was proposed in the mid 1990s by individuals in the science community at CBU and at Eskasoni (the largest First Nations Community east of Montreal). This four step methodology is inspired by the objectives of the Canada Research Chair in Integrative Science specifically related to this pilot project as follows:
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
