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Native Spirit: Culturally-grounded substance use prevention for Indigenous adolescents

Award Number: K99DA056842
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/29/2023

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Native Spirit: Culturally-grounded substance use prevention for Indigenous adolescents - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT American Indian and Alaska Natives (AIANs) experience disproportionately high rates of lifetime substance use disorder with peak past-year prevalence rates at 16 years of age. AIAN adolescents ages 17 and younger have a higher prevalence and earlier initiation of drug and alcohol use compared with all other ethnic/racial groups in the US. Compared to other ethnic/racial groups, AIAN youth have the highest self-reported depression rates, and in 2014, suicide was the second leading cause of death for AIANs between the ages 10 and 34 years of age. These data demonstrate the need for early intervention to prevent substance use in AIAN adolescents. Cultural connectedness has been identified as a protective factor against substance use and depression for AIAN youth while promoting positive self-esteem and healthy identity formation. Culturally- grounded after-school programs (ASPs) use cultural values and practices as a basis for health promotion and disease prevention, a form of AIAN prevention. Culturally-grounded program differ from other cultural programs (culturally-based or culturally-adapted) because the development is guided or led by the local community, for the local community and are rooted in specific social and cultural contexts. This study builds on a 6-year partnership with ASPs serving AI adolescents to assess the impact of a 13-session culturally-grounded intervention, called Native Spirit (NS). NS is an ASP that is led by traditional knowledge holders with each session focusing on a community-specific cultural value and activity. NS aims to decrease and prevent substance use by enhancing protective factors, including strengthening cultural identity, self-esteem, and resilience. The goals of the proposed (R00) study are to: 1) strengthen self-esteem, resilience, and cultural identity, and 2) attenuate substance use among AI youth (ages 12-17) through participation in NS. This study will use a mixed methods waitlist control design to evaluate the impact of participation in the NS program. The study will measure changes to participant self-esteem, cultural identity, resilience, and substance use with a self-report survey at three timepoints and semi-structured interviews. This study provides an innovative connection between cultural engagement and substance use prevention for AI adolescents and also highlights unique opportunities for health promotion with collaborations with ASPs that serve AI communities. Through the MOSAIC K99/R00, I will gain training in qualitative and quantitative analysis, culturally-appropriate measurement of adolescent substance use, and the development and implementation of prevention interventions while transitioning to an independent investigator in a tenure-track faculty position. The resulting R00 phase research aligns with NIDA Strategic Goal 2 to “develop new and improved strategies to prevent drug use and its consequences” with AI communities in the Southwest.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = -$113,474 )
2024	2023	NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY	601 S KNOLES DR RM 220	FLAGSTAFF	AZ	86011	COCONINO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	001	2	9/10/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$113,474
2024	2023	NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY	601 S KNOLES DR RM 220	FLAGSTAFF	AZ	86011	COCONINO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	2	5/2/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = -$113,474

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $117,626 )
2023	2023	NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY	601 S KNOLES DR	FLAGSTAFF	AZ	86011	COCONINO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	2	8/1/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$117,626
														Subtotal = $117,626

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $117,626 )
2022	2022	NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY	601 S KNOLES DR ROOM 220	FLAGSTAFF	AZ	86011	COCONINO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	1	6/14/2022	NEW	$117,626
														Subtotal = $117,626

Grand Total All Awards = $121,778

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Native Spirit: Culturally-grounded substance use prevention for Indigenous adolescents

Award Number: K99DA056842

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/29/2023

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