A structural equation model test of affect, family warmth, and substance use among American Indian reservation-based adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined moderating effects of family warmth on relationships between positive and negative affect and alcohol and cannabis use among American Indian (AI) youth.

METHOD

Participants were 5,831 AI students (seventh-12th grade) surveyed during the 2021 and 2022 school years. Students completed measures of positive and negative affect, family warmth, and past year alcohol and cannabis use. Multigroup and latent moderated structural equation modeling models tested hypothesized main and interactive effects of hypothesized relationships and explored moderation by sex.

RESULTS

Family warmth and negative affect, but not positive affect, related significantly to alcohol use; all three predictors related significantly to cannabis use. Family warmth did not moderate associations between negative affect and either substance in the overall sample, nor the association of positive affect to alcohol use. However, family warmth moderated associations between positive affect and cannabis, with family warmth bolstering protective effects of positive affect. Female youth were less likely than male youth to use alcohol with increasing levels of warmth. Furthermore, compounding protective effects of family warmth and positive affect on cannabis use were stronger among female compared to male youth.

CONCLUSIONS

Several factors may explain the lack of a buffering effect of family warmth on the relationship between negative affect and substance use, including the use of a general affect measure rather than individual measures of depression and anxiety. Nevertheless, these findings suggest substance use interventions should consider the compounding effects of family warmth and positive affect, particularly among female AI youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).