Social Determinants of Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Problems Among Urban Aboriginal Adults in Canada

• Author / Creator

  Currie, Cheryl

• Objective: Little is known about the determinants of addictive disorders within the rapidly growing urban Aboriginal population in Canada. The objectives of this dissertation were to examine whether Aboriginal enculturation, Canadian acculturation, and racial discrimination were associated with addictive problems among urban Aboriginal Canadians, and to test potential mediators of these associations. Methods: Data were collected via in-person surveys and interviews with two community-based samples of Aboriginal adults living in a mid-sized city in western Canada. Sample 1 was recruited in 2008-09 and included Aboriginal university students (N = 60). Sample 2 was recruited in 2010 and included urban Aboriginal adults more generally (N = 381). Results: Both samples evidenced high levels of Aboriginal enculturation and Canadian acculturation. In Sample 1, Aboriginal enculturation served as a protective factor for alcohol use problems. In Sample 2, Aboriginal enculturation served as a protective factor for illicit and prescription drug problems, as well as a resilience factor that buffered the effects of low educational attainment on illicit drug problems in this population. The protective impacts of enculturation on illicit and prescription drug problems were partially explained by elevated self-esteem among urban Aboriginal participants who were more highly enculturated. Canadian acculturation was not statistically associated with alcohol or illicit drug problems and served as a risk factor for prescription drug problems among urban Aboriginal participants. Racial discrimination served as a risk factor for prescription drug problems and gambling problems. Mediational analyses indicate the impacts of racial discrimination on addictive outcomes were explained by elevated PTSD symptomology among those experiencing high levels of discrimination. These associations could not be explained by statistical adjustment for factors such as separation from birth parents in childhood, abuse in childhood, and exposure to poverty over the life course. Conclusions: Findings support the growth of programs and services that encourage Aboriginal peoples to maintain their culture within the urban setting. Results also support policies and programs to reduce racism directed at Aboriginal peoples in urban areas, and services to help Aboriginal peoples cope with these experiences.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Culture
  • Aboriginal
  • Illicit Drugs
  • Prescription Drugs
  • Acculturation
  • Alcohol
  • Racial Discrimination
  • Gambling
  • Enculturation
  • Post Traumatic Stress
  • Self-Esteem

• Graduation date

  Spring 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3NC8K

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.