Drug use among American Indian adolescents is an ever-increasing, serious concern. Epidemiological research has illustrated high frequency use of marijuana (Novins & Mitchell, 1998) and tobacco (Moncher, Holden, & Trimble, 1990) by these youth, and higher rates of annual and lifetime drug use compared with other ethnic populations (Gfellner & Hundelby, 1995). Research has highlighted the increasing earlier onset of drug use for these youth (Schinke, Tepavak, & Cole, 2000). However, research examining gender differences in the drug use of American Indian adolescents illustrates mixed findings. Few studies show differences in drug usage patterns of American Indian females that are distinct from males. Novins and Mitchell (1998) and Wallace et al. (2003) found differences in patterns of marijuana use for American Indian boys versus girls. Both studies found that more boys than girls report high-frequency marijuana use, although they differed in the developmental trajectory of drug use. However, there is a paucity of research that examines possible differences in drug use offers among male and female American Indian adolescents that may prevent or contribute to their drug use.

This study explored gender differences in the patterns of drug offers among a sample of 71 American Indian middle school students. The authors investigated gender differences in the frequency of drug offers from parents, other adult family members, cousins, friends, and other peers, and the perceived difficulty of refusing drugs from each of these offerers.

The Problem Situations Inventory for American Indian Youth (PSIAI; Okamoto, LeCroy, Dustman, Hohmann-Marriott, & Kulis, 2004) consists of 62 items intended to measure the frequency of exposure to drug offers from parents, other adult family members, cousins, friends, and other peers, and the perceived difficulty of refusing drugs from each of these offerers. This exploratory study was conducted with 71 American Indian youth within three public middle schools in the Southwest.

Results indicated that female and male American Indian youth differed in the degree of exposure to drug offers and the degree of perceived difficulty in handling such offers. Even after controlling for differences in age, grade level, SES, family structure, and residence on a reservation, girls reported significantly more drug offers than boys from friends, cousins, and other peers. Compared to boys, girls also reported a significantly higher sense of difficulty in dealing with drug offers from all sources.

Implications for Practice - Findings from this study directly inform the development of culturally-grounded, gender-sensitive drug prevention practices and programs for American Indian youth. This study reveals that American Indian female adolescents may be at greater risk for drug use than boys, since they received significantly more drug offers and indicated more difficulty in refusing drug offers. Specifically, it seems that social and familial relationships influence the number of drug offers American Indian youth receive, that these relationships may affect girls and boys differently, and that a disparity of experiences for female and male American Indian adolescents exists regarding their exposure to drug offers and the degree of perceived difficulty in handling such offers.