{"id":7871,"date":"2022-09-22T15:55:53","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T15:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/sherc\/?page_id=7871"},"modified":"2025-08-12T22:08:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T22:08:49","slug":"ppp-5-amanda-hunter","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/sherc\/ppp-5-amanda-hunter\/","title":{"rendered":"PPP Year 5: Hunter, Native Spirit: Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Culturally Grounded After-school Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pilot Project, Year 5<\/h1>\n

Native Spirit: Development, implementation, and evaluation of a culturally grounded after-school program<\/h2>\n

American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) youth have the highest rates of lifetime major depressive episodes and, in 2017, AIANs (ages 15-19) had twice as many suicides compared to White adolescents. Major depression and suicide are often co-occurring with substance use disorder (SUD) and AIANs experience disproportionately high rates of lifetime SUD with peak prevalence rates at 16 years of age. These data demonstrate the need for early intervention to promote health among AIAN adolescents.<\/p>\n

AIAN adolescents who are culturally engaged experience positive health outcomes when compared to those who are not culturally engaged. Culturally grounded after-school programs (ASPs) are a proven strategy to promote well-being for AIAN youth. This study partners with ASPs serving AIAN youth to assess the impact of a 10-session intervention designed to enhance protective factors associated with adolescent behavioral health including decreasing substance use.<\/p>\n

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Study aims<\/strong><\/h2>\n