A group of researchers set out to identify risk and protective factors for problematic opioid use among American Indigenous youth. Their efforts were prompted by the lack of research on Indigenous youth and by the disproportionate impact of the opioid crisis on Indigenous people due to the effects of historical trauma and ongoing racism. Two factors emerged as protective against prescription opioid misuse: family disapproval of substance use and better school performance. However, neither was protective against heroin use. In contrast, having peers who used substances was a risk factor for both prescription opioid misuse and heroin use. In BC, efforts by the First Nations Health Authority and others are building on these kinds of findings, with the goal of supporting wellness and healthy development for all Indigenous young people.

For more information, see Vol. 18, No. 2 of the Children’s Mental Health Research Quarterly.