Teacher, parent, and youth report of problem behaviors among rural American Indian and Caucasian adolescents.

Abstract

Previous research on the mental health status of American Indian youth has documented rates of pathology that are higher than the rates for Caucasian youth. However, much of this previous research has compared rural American Indians to urban Caucasians. The present study is a comparison of American Indian and Caucasian youth living on or near a rural reservation. Results suggest that although American Indian youth have higher levels than Caucasian youth of certain problem behaviors, group differences are much less general and pronounced than previous research has documented. Analyses also revealed teachers' perceptions of youth were in some cases quite different than parents' perceptions of youth and youth's perceptions of themselves.