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Mental disorders among parents/caretakers of American Indian early adolescents in the Northern Midwest*

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Abstract

Background

This study reports prevalence and comorbidty of five DSM-III-R diagnoses (alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, drug abuse, major depressive episode, and generalized anxiety disorder) among American Indian and Canadian First Nations parents/caretakers of children aged 10–12 years from the Northern Midwest United States and Canada. Lifetime prevalence rates were compared to adults in the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) and Southwest and Northern Plains cultures from the AI-SUPERPFP study.

Method

Native interviewers used computer-assisted personal interviews to administer the University of Michigan Composite International Diagnostic Interview (UM-CIDI) to 861 tribally enrolled parents and caretakers (625 females; 236 males) of 741 tribally enrolled children aged 10–12 years. Fathers/male caretakers ranged in age from 21 years to 68 years with an average age of 41 years; mothers/female caretakers ranged in age from 17 years to 77 years with an average of 39 years.

Results

About three-fourths (74.6%) of the adults met lifetime criteria for one of the five disorders; approximately one-third (31.6%) met lifetime criteria for two or more of the five disorders. Prevalence of the substance use disorders was higher than those in the general population (NCS); prevalence of internalizing disorders (major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder) was very similar to those in the general population. Prevalence rates for alcohol abuse among the Northern Midwest adults were higher than those reported for Southwest and Northern Plains Tribes, but rates of alcohol dependency were very similar across cultures.

Conclusions

The higher prevalence rates for some mental disorders found for the Northern Midwest are discussed in terms of potential method variance. The Northern Midwest results reflect unique patterns of psychiatric disorders in the ubiquity of substance abuse disorders and the co-occurrence of substance abuse disorders with internalizing disorders. Reducing lifetime occurrences of substance abuse disorders would have an enormous positive impact on the mental health of this population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 739 Oldfather Hall, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0324, USA

    Les. B. Whitbeck PhD, Dan Hoyt PhD & Kurt Johnson PhD

  2. Dept. of Sociology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Xiaojin Chen PhD

Authors
  1. Les. B. Whitbeck PhD
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  2. Dan Hoyt PhD
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  3. Kurt Johnson PhD
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  4. Xiaojin Chen PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dan Hoyt PhD.

Additional information

*This research was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA13580) and the National Institute of Mental Health (MH67281), Les B. Whitbeck, Principal Investigator.

The authors acknowledge the helpful comments of two anonymous reviewers.

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Whitbeck, L.B., Hoyt, D., Johnson, K. et al. Mental disorders among parents/caretakers of American Indian early adolescents in the Northern Midwest*. Soc Psychiat Epidemiol 41, 632–640 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-006-0070-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-006-0070-2

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