Intertribal Talking Circle for the prevention of alcohol and drug use among Native American youth.
John Lowe, Jada Brooks, Gary Lawrence and 3 others
PMID 38281085WHAT IT FOUND
Native American youth in a culturally based talking circle self-reported lower alcohol and drug use and higher cultural identity than peers in standard substance-use education, with gains sustained over follow-up.
Key findings
01In the ITC group, alcohol-use scores were 54.43 at baseline, 12.88 at 6 months, and 11.45 at 12 months; the paper reports a 42.97 decrease from baseline to 12 months.
02In the ITC group, drug-use scores were 15.27 at baseline, 6.07 at 6 months, and 4.70 at 12 months; the paper reports a 10.57 decrease from baseline to 12 months.
03In the ITC group, Native-Reliance cultural identity scores were 68.11 at baseline, 106.30 at 6 months, and 106.96 at 12 months; the paper reports a 38.85 increase from baseline to 12 months.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The design was quasi-experimental and assignment was made at the school level, so differences between schools could have influenced the results. The alcohol-use measure was developed for this study and the paper says it had not been tested before this study. All outcomes were based on youth self-report. The paper does not identify a primary outcome among cultural identity, alcohol use, and drug use. The intervention was culturally tailored to three anonymous tribal communities, so its content and delivery may not transfer unchanged to other youth groups.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the talking circle format alone reduced alcohol and drug use. The ITC combined facilitator-led group sessions, virtual intertribal connection, tribal-language manuals, and Native-Reliance content, and the study did not test which component mattered.