Patterns of Protective Factors in an Intervention for the Prevention of Suicide and Alcohol Abuse with Yup'ik Alaska Native Youth

• Published in: The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse Vol. 38; no. 5; pp. 476 - 482
• Main Authors: Henry, David, Allen, James, Fok, Carlotta Ching Ting, Rasmus, Stacy, Charles, Bill
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa Healthcare 01.09.2012; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Action research; Adolescent; Age Factors; Alaska; Alaska - epidemiology; Alaska Native people; Alcohol Abuse; Alcohol use; Alcoholism - epidemiology; Alcoholism - ethnology; Alcoholism - prevention & control; American Indians; Attendance; Child; Community based action research; Community research; Community-Based Participatory Research - methods; Comparative analysis; Cultural Characteristics; Culture; Family; Female; Humans; Indigenous peoples; Intervention; Inuits; Latent class analysis; Latent Structure Analysis; Male; Native North Americans; Participatory research; Prevention; Prevention programs; Protective factors; Risk Factors; Suicide; Suicide - ethnology; Suicide - prevention & control; Suicides & suicide attempts; Young people; Youth; Alaska; United States > US
• ISSN: 0095-2990; 1097-9891
• DOI: 10.3109/00952990.2012.704460

Background: Community-based participatory research (CBPR) with American Indian and Alaska Native communities creates distinct interventions, complicating cross-setting comparisons. Objective: The objective of this study is to develop a method for quantifying intervention exposure in CBPR interventions that differ in their forms across communities, permitting multi-site evaluation. Methods: Attendance data from 195 youth from three Yup'ik communities were coded for the specific protective factor exposure of each youth, based on information from the intervention manual. The coded attendance data were then submitted to latent class analysis to obtain participation patterns. Results: Five patterns of exposure to protective factors were obtained: Internal, External, Limits, Community/family, and Low Protection. Patterns differed significantly by community and youth age. Conclusion: Standardizing interventions by the functions an intervention serves (protective factors promoted) instead of their forms or components (specific activities) can assist in refining CBPR interventions and evaluating effects in culturally distinct settings.