Explaining the Association between Gender and Substance Use among American Indian Adolescents

Abstract

This study evaluates the utility of Hagan’s power-control theory for explaining substance use behaviors for a sample of American Indian (AI) adolescent males and females. Consistent with the theory, we found that patriarchal family form and the affective bond between father and daughter were significant predictors of female substance use behaviors. Compared with results from an analysis of non-Hispanic (NH) whites, these results reveal the importance of testing generalist explanations of deviant behavior across racial and ethnic groups. Our findings encourage a more in-depth consideration of the gendered nature of work, its association with socialization and control in AI families, and its impact on gender differences in substance use and delinquent behaviors.