Alcohol abuse in urban Indian adolescents and women: a longitudinal study for assessment and risk evaluation

Empirical studies of American Indian health and mental health have focused primarily on reservation samples or small cross-sectional school-based or treatment samples. Few studies have addressed these issues among urban American Indian populations. This paper introduces an ongoing ten-year prospective longitudinal study of alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and mental health status in a community sample of urban American Indian adolescents and women. The study uses structured interviews and diagnostic assessments to identify risk factors for, and measure prevalence of, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and psychopathology in 523 Indian youth and 276 Indian women. Study aims, rationale, research design, methods, sample characteristics, assessment instruments, and substance use prevalence are described, and methodological issues related to conducting longitudinal research are discussed.