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North American Indigenous (NAI) youth suffers disproportionately from consequences associated with alcohol use. Previous research has found that positive alcohol expectancies are robustly related to alcohol consumption among NAI youth and that changes in alcohol consumption are associated with concurrent changes in happiness. However, no work to date has examined the relation between happiness and alcohol expectancies, or the influence of happiness on the association between alcohol expectancies and alcohol consumption. First Nation adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18 living on a rural reserve in Eastern Canada ( N = 106, M age = 14.6 years, 50.0% female) completed a pencil-and-paper survey regarding their subjective happiness, positive alcohol expectancies, and alcohol consumption. Moderation analyses revealed a significant main effect of subjective happiness ( b = -.10, p < .001) but not alcohol expectancies ( b = .02, p = .14) on alcohol consumption. The interaction of alcohol expectancies and subjective happiness was significant, ( b = -.01, p = .002). Analysis of simple slopes revealed that the effect of alcohol expectancies on alcohol consumption was significant for those reporting low ( b = .07, p = .001), but not high levels of subjective happiness ( b = -.02, p = .25). Results of the present study provide preliminary support for the utility of positive psychological interventions aiming to increase adolescent's subjective happiness to indirectly target alcohol consumption. Future work should test the effectiveness of such interventions and aim to replicate these findings in larger samples. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Purpose: North American Indigenous (NAI) communities often cite substance misuse as problematic in their communities. The Competing Life Reinforcers (CLRs) model suggests that when reinforcers are valued, important, and incompatible with substance use, they will be associated with less substance misuse. Three categories of CLRs were identified in our formative work and include the following: cultural, social, and extracurricular activities. The aims of the current study were to test the associations among valuing and availability of CLRs and NAI adolescent alcohol and marijuana use., Methods: Adolescents living in rural First Nation reserve communities (N = 106, 50.0% female) reported their substance use and perceived availability and valuing of CLRs (e.g., smudging and after school activities)., Findings: Greater value placed on cultural reinforcers was significantly associated with reduced likelihood of past 3-month drinking to get drunk (OR = 0.85, 95% CI[0.73, 0.98]). Greater value placed on social reinforcers was associated with lower likelihood of past 3-month drinking (OR = 0.94, 95% CI[0.89, 0.995]) and past-3 month drinking to get drunk (OR = 0.94, 95% CI[0.88, 0.99]). Greater valuing extracurricular activities were associated with lower likelihood of past month marijuana use (OR = 0.84, 95% CI[0.72, 098]), past 3-month drinking (OR = 0.77, 95% CI[0.64, 0.92]), and past 3-month drinking to get drunk (OR = 0.76, 95% CI[0.63, 0.92])., Conclusions: CLRs may be protective against NAI adolescent substance use and may be useful targets for prevention and treatment for NAI adolescent substance use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

American Indian (AI) adolescents experience disproportionately higher rates of alcohol use and related consequences. While self-esteem has been found to be associated with alcohol use in non-AI samples, little is known about this relationship in AI adolescents. Further, there is a dearth of literature examining the psychometric properties of self-esteem measures for AI adolescents. The current study aims to examine the factor structure of the self-esteem items of the American Drug and Alcohol Survey (ADAS) and to better understand the relationships among self-esteem, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems in AI adolescents. The present study represents secondary analyses of cross-sectional data collected between 2009 and 2013. Participants ( n = 3,498) were AI adolescents ( M age = 14.8, 47.7% female) attending schools on or near reservations across 11 states. Participants completed the American Drug and Alcohol Survey. Factor analytic results suggested 2 factors, representing intrapersonal (from intrinsic sources) and interpersonal self-esteem (from extrinsic sources). Multilevel regression analyses revealed that, with both factors entered into the model, intrapersonal self-esteem was negatively associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems, while interpersonal self-esteem was positively associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Results suggest the importance of examining the properties of assessment tools before they are used with a community for whom they were not developed. Further, self-esteem does not appear to be universally protective. Rather, interventions should aim to consider sources from which AI adolescents are drawing self-esteem and focus on promoting more intrinsic sources rather than aiming to increase self-esteem in general. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).