Giving Compass' Take:
- At The Rural Blog, Alec Foust reports on a study that reveals how addiction stereotypes harshly affect indigenous Americans.
- What can we do to educate communities on the dangerous implications of implicit bias and micro- or macroaggressions, like stereotyping?
- Read about how you can adjust your giving to more effectively support indigenous Americans.
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The many indigenous Americans who believe the myth that they are genetically predisposed to heavy drinking may crave alcohol more, drink more frequently, and suffer worse alcohol-related consequences than those who don’t believe the myth, according to a recent study that followed 141 Native American and Alaskan Native adults who identified as having a substance use problem and had consumed alcohol in the previous 90 days.
About 60 percent of participants expressed some belief in the myth that heavy drinking is in their genes. Among those who used alcohol only, believing the myth was associated with greater craving and more frequent drinking, which was in turn linked to worse alcohol-related consequences. Among those who used alcohol and hard drugs, belief in the myth was associated with fewer drinking days. But these participants were also less confident in their ability to self-moderate their substance use. They also reported craving substances more and experienced worse substance use consequences.
For all participants, more frequent drinking was associated with lower self-efficacy, which is the belief that one can control one's behaviors. Belief in the myth was not associated with self-efficacy, however, perhaps because the adults’ perception of their ability to moderate their drinking was more influenced by other factors, such as personal struggles with alcohol.
The myth of a biogenetic “cause” could falsely imply that problematic drinking is predestined and incurable, contributing to worse outcomes. The association between this belief and drinking frequency was found in participants who used alcohol only, not in those who also used hard drugs. The researchers cautioned that the study does not reliably indicate the causes of substance use, and recommended that more research examine how shifting belief in this myth may affect alcohol-related outcomes.
Read the full article about addiction stereotypes by Alec Foust at The Rural Blog.