SUBSTANCE ABUSE, DISABILITY, AND ETHNICITY
This research describes a relationship between substance abuse, psychological disability, and ethnicity. The abused substance in this relationship is alcohol, while the psychological disability is adolescent disruptive behavior, and the relevant ethnic group is Native American.
The three variables in this relationship are tied together through the fetal alcohol syndrome. The description of the relationship will show that (1) the frequency of alcohol consumption is disproportionately high among Native American women (Burd, 1994, pp. 688-693), (2) the adverse effects of fetal alcohol syndrome do not end in infancy, but persist into adolescence (Smitherman, 1994, pp. 121-126), (3) a major effect of fetal alcohol syndrome in adolescents is disruptive behavior disability (Griffin, 1994, pp. 20-27) as defined by DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, pp. 78-94), (4) adolescent disruptive behavior disability is especially prevalent among adolescents in adoptive families (Lahti, 1993, pp. 67-74), and that Native American children tend to be placed in adoptive homes at a greater frequency than non Native American children (James & James, 1992, p. 24).
In contemporary American society, the "use of certain substances to modify mood or behavior under certain circumstances is generally regarded as normal and appropriate. Such use includes recreational drinking of alcohol, in which a majority of adult Americans participate . . ." (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, p. 165). Problems for most people develop when "maladaptive behavioral changes associated with the more or less regular use of psychoactive substances that affect the central nervous system" appear (p. 165). For the progeny of pregnant women, however, problems begin with gestational exposure to alcohol, regardless of the fact that the mother may not be abusing the substance (Coles, 1993, pp. 255-266). Heavy use of a...