Effects of Family Conflict and Anger on Alcohol Use Among American Indian Students: Mediating Effects of Outcome Expectancies

Objective: Identification of etiologic mechanisms underlying alcohol use among American Indian adolescents is essential because of higher rates of use and earlier initiation. One path links positive outcome expectancies to increased use for reduction of negative affect. This study estimates relationships between two aspects of distress among American Indian high school students-family conflict and anger-and alcohol involvement, and it investigates whether outcome expectancies serve as a mediator between these facets of distress and alcohol use. Method: Structural equation modeling evaluated study hypotheses among 975 female and 936 male American Indian 9th- through 12th- grade students residing on or near reservations. Students were from 17 high schools recruited across six geographic regions where American Indians on reservations reside. Separate models were assessed for male and female students. Results: Outcome expectancies mediated the relationship between both anger and family conflict for female students, but only for anger among male students. Full mediation was found for all significant effects. Conclusions: For female American Indian high school students, anger and family conflict operate in large degree through outcome expectancies for alcohol use. A similar effect is found for male students for anger.