Amanda Hunter
Arizona State University Campus Immersion, AZ·Public Health & Epidemiology·Early-career
American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) teenagers start using drugs and alcohol earlier, and at higher rates, than any other racial or ethnic group in the US. Rates of substance use disorder peak around age 16.
- Fields
Public Health & Epidemiology
Psychology
- Topics
American Indian and Alaska Native
Indigenous youth
Native American health
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Mar 2027
What they work on
- Identify the core elements of Native Spirit, a 13-session culturally grounded after-school program led by traditional knowledge holders for American Indian adolescents.
- Identify and adapt culturally appropriate assessment measures of substance use, cultural identity, self-esteem and resilience for American Indian youth aged 12–17.
- Test whether participating in Native Spirit strengthens self-esteem, resilience and cultural identity and reduces substance use, using a mixed-methods waitlist control design with surveys at three timepoints and interviews.
More about the research
AIAN youth also report the highest rates of depression, and suicide is a leading cause of death among young AIAN people. Feeling connected to one's culture protects against substance use and depression in AIAN youth, and it supports self-esteem and healthy identity. This suggests culture itself could be a tool for prevention.
Why it matters
There is little evidence on whether culturally grounded programs prevent substance use among Indigenous adolescents. This study could give American Indian communities in the Southwest, and the after-school programs serving their youth, evidence about a prevention approach built on local values and led by traditional knowledge holders. It could also provide culturally appropriate measures for future studies.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Monica Skewes
Montana State University, MT·Psychology
Test whether Indigenous Recovery Planning, a culturally adapted Relapse Prevention treatment, increases percent days abstinent among 150 Fort Peck tribal members with substance use disorder, compared with a waitlist control group.
Jani Ingram
Northern Arizona University, AZ·Public Health & Epidemiology
Engage in bidirectional communication with American Indian and Alaska Native community partners, grounded in mutual exchange of perspectives, to set research priorities and promote best practices for cancer health.
Tommi Gaines
University of California-San Diego, CA·Public Health & Epidemiology
Build a community-based participatory research partnership with Southern California Tribal and community representatives to co-design a culturally appropriate study of naloxone vending machines on Tribal lands.
The school
Arizona State University Campus Immersion: 36 labs on PI Pages, $1.0B a year on research, 625 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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