ABSTRACT
The present study examined adolescent substance use in an American Indian boarding school population from a multi-causal perspective, with special emphasis on the role of life stress, social support, and depression. Structural equation modeling (Jötreskog & Sörbom, 1989) was employed to test alternative models of the relative influence of such life experiences on the nature and extent of alcohol and drug use. As hypothesized, life stress was positively related to rates of substance use, levels of family support, and depression. However, social support had minimal influence as a mediating factor for substance use.
