Alcohol use, externalizing problems, and depressive symptoms among American Indian youth: the role of self-efficacy.

BACKGROUND

There is a need to understand resiliency factors which can be used to inform and design interventions to prevent externalizing problems, substance use, and depressive symptoms among American Indian (AI) youth.

OBJECTIVES

The present study examined the role of self-efficacy in externalizing problems, alcohol use, and depressive symptoms among AI youth from the North American plains.

METHODS

Participants for this study included 146 (53 boys and 93 girls) adolescents, with an age range of 13-18 (M = 14.5) years of age.

RESULTS

High self-efficacy for resisting negative peer influences predicted both lower rates of alcohol use and fewer externalizing behaviors. Furthermore, higher levels of both academic and social self-efficacy predicted fewer depressive symptoms. The hypothesis that academic self-efficacy would predict depressive symptoms was not supported.

CONCLUSION

As expected, the best-fitting path model showed self-efficacy for resisting negative peer influences predicting both alcohol use and externalizing problems, and social self-efficacy (as well as being female) predicting depressive symptoms among AI youth. Therefore, this study supports the importance of self-efficacy beliefs for alcohol use and externalizing problems, as well as depressive symptoms, among AI youth.