CHILDHOOD ABUSE RELATED TO ALCOHOLISM IN
NATIVE AMERICANS
http://www.hbns.org/news/americans09-17-03.cfm
By Becky Ham, Science Writer Health Behavior News Service
New research on seven Native American tribes suggests that tribe
members who were abused or sent away to school as children are more
likely to have problems with alcohol later in life. Men were almost
twice as likely to abuse alcohol if they had experienced a combination
of physical and sexual abuse as children. Women were almost twice as
likely to have alcohol problems if they had been sexually abused and
attended boarding school.
The study, published in the September issue of the American Journal of
Preventive Medicine, is the first to look at adverse childhood
environments as a risk factor for alcoholism across a large number of
tribes, say Mary P. Koss, Ph.D., and Nicole Yuan, Ph.D., of the
University of Arizona and colleagues.
Alcohol abuse exacts a terrible toll among several Native American
communities, making it important to understand factors that might
influence alcohol abuse among the population, according to the
researchers.
With the help of Native American interviewers and the cooperation of
leaders of tribes in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Oregon, Maine and Arizona,
the
researchers collected information on adverse childhood experiences
ranging from emotional neglect to physical abuse to adoption and
boarding school attendance and drinking habits from 1,660 people. The
participants were interviewed by a person from within their tribe or
someone from another tribe, depending on tribal leaders' preferences.
The percentage of alcohol dependent tribe members varied significantly
among tribes, from only one to two percent in one tribe to 56 percent
of
the men in another. Across all the tribes, 30 percent of the men and 18
percent of the women were diagnosed with some form of alcohol
dependence. More than half said that they had at least one parent with
alcohol problems.
More than two-thirds of respondents reported at least one kind of
adverse childhood experience. Physical neglect and abuse were among the
most widely reported childhood experiences, while emotional neglect was
the least prevalent.
Koss and colleagues also found that women who knew more about their
tribal languages had a higher risk of alcohol problems, while women who
lived close to their tribal communities were less likely to abuse
alcohol. However, these same influences did not significantly affect
men's likelihood of alcohol problems.
"The women's language finding is hard to interpret because with our
data, we can't say which came first, alcohol problems or language
skills. It could be that the language facility was learned in tribal
sobriety programs and was not a precursor to alcoholism," Koss says.
Based on their findings, the researchers highlight the need to develop
social programs for reservation-based families to lessen exposure to
adult drinking and to establish intensive preventive education on
childhood sexual abuse.
The study was supported by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism.
# # #
Health Behavior News Service: (202) 387-2829 or www.hbns.org.
Interviews: Contact Mary Koss at 520-626-9502 or mpk@u.arizona.edu.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine: Contact the editorial office
at (619) 594-7344.
Center for the Advancement of Health
Contact: Ira R. Allen
Director of Public Affairs
202.387.2829
press@cfah.org
Possible questions for the class experience (in Peru)...
What is it like being an American in South America?
What is it like being an woman or a man in South America?
What expectations did we have before we left, what
happened to those expectations once in Peru?
In what ways are we still feeling the effects of our
time abroad?
Who did we meet while we were in Peru, how would we
describe those people, and why would we describe them that way...
How did we effect the people we met while abroad, did we
really communicate, did we create lasting connections?
Oh and I forget who this idea comes from but one
question a teacher friend had for me last year had to do with people
travelling...
He asked what it meant to be a lover of a place and a
people as opposed to what it means to just visit or tour a place. At
what point are you committed to the people and the lands when you
visit, do you have to be born there or live there for a long time to
become a lover or can you have that kind of intimacy in a short visit?
Chalen
Interesting links:
http://www.apple.com/pro/video/margerin/
<>
Students' blogs
Ethan
http://polyculture.blogspot.com/
Students' web pages:
Ann http://academic.evergreen.edu/s/szwann23/Pages/Where.html
An interesting project
I (Moses Kaber) am looking to do some very specific study and
application during my final quarters here, and a friend of mine
recommended your class 'Patience'. I've looked over the course
description, and it seems to be just what I'm looking for. I have been
thinking about the nature of games and education for a long time, and
as you can see below, I have worked out (in a somewhat general sense)
what I want to do. To put it in the form of a contemplative question, I
suppose it would go something like this:
What allows for 'natural' learning (that is, learning from experience)
to occur, and how is this best incorporated into a game?
This by no means is my only area of interest. Another idea I've been
toying with involves creating a system of support for the poor and
homeless that exists totally (or at least as close to totally as
possible) outside the current economic model. I would start by
gathering a list of the skills limitations and resources of the
homeless population of Olympia. I would then probably focus on projects
that would help build reputation capital for the homeless in Olympia.
Once these people have a good reputation, and more importantly a close
connection with the community they will no longer be considered
'strangers on the street', and it seems that it is much harder to let
someone you know go without then it is a 'stranger on the street'.
Abstract for Games with Transferable Skills (educational games)
Most games require you to learn things in order to play them (rules),
and in many games you learn more as you continue to play the game. The
problem is, that most things you learn in games are not useful outside
of the setting of games. Occasionally you will learn things from games
that apply to 'real life': The popular game Metal Gear Solid has
information in it on missile treaties, the game Parasite Eve has
information about mitochondria and their relationship with the rest of
the cell, etc... There are also games that make it their goal to teach
transferable skills and knowledge. Some examples of these are; Math
Muncher, the Oregon trail, Where in the world is Carmon Sandiago,
Typing of the Dead, etc... These games are generally referred to as
'educational games'. Though some of these games are successful and fun,
most tend to fail by focusing on being educational first, and being a
game second.
This is where I come in. I intend to study game development and
theory, as well as education technique and theory, draw then most
useful and proven elements out of each and make games using them. I
will read books on game theory, and education. I will pick a field of
study to teach. I will then design a game based on what I have read,
and the chosen field. I will assemble a group of people to playtest
this game until I am satisfied that it is both fun and useful. I will
keep documentation on what game and education theories I use in the
construction of the game. I will keep notes on problems that arise in
the making and testing of the game. I will finish the quarter by making
a polished version of the game with instructions and documentation on
the principles the game is based on.