Sociology and Anthropology

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/55

Drawing on the expertise and commitment of our research-active faculty, the MSU Sociology and Anthropology provide excellent educational experiences to undergraduate majors, minors and MSU as a whole. The unifying theme of the department is the study of societies – past and present – embedded in the tradition of the liberal arts.

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Adult social roles and alcohol use among American Indians
(2014-09) Greene, Kaylin M.; Eitle, Tamela McNulty; Eitle, David
American Indians are disproportionately burdened by alcohol-related problems. Yet, research exploring predictors of alcohol use among American Indians has been limited by cross-sectional designs and reservation-based samples. Guided by a life course developmental perspective, the current study used a subsample of American Indians (n = 927) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to explore alcohol use (current drinking, usual number of drinks, and binge drinking) among this population. We examined whether adult social roles (i.e., cohabitation, marriage, parenthood, college enrollment, and full-time work) were linked to the rise and fall of alcohol use. Multi-level models demonstrated that adult social roles were linked to alcohol use at the within- and between-person levels. Becoming a parent was linked to a lower likelihood of being a current drinker, fewer alcoholic drinks, and less frequent binge drinking. Transitioning to full-time work was associated with a higher likelihood of being a current drinker and more frequent binge drinking. Results point to the importance of exploring within-group trajectories of alcohol use and highlight the protective and risky nature of adult social roles among American Indians.
Explaining the Association between Gender and Substance Use among American Indian Adolescents: An Application of Power-control Theory
(2015-12) Eitle, Tamela McNulty; Eitle, David
This study evaluates the utility of Hagan's power-control theory for explaining substance use behaviors for a sample of American Indian (AI) adolescent males and females. Consistent with the theory, we found that patriarchal family form and the affective bond between father and daughter were significant predictors of female substance use behaviors. Compared with results from an analysis of non-Hispanic (NH) whites, these results reveal the importance of testing generalist explanations of deviant behavior across racial and ethnic groups. Our findings encourage a more in-depth consideration of the gendered nature of work, its association with socialization and control in AI families, and its impact on gender differences in substance use and delinquent behaviors.
School Context and American Indian Substance Use
(2017-12) Eitle, David; Thorsen, Maggie L.; Eitle, Tamela McNulty
The present study extends prior research exploring the role of school contextual factors in predicting individual adolescent substance use by examining how a school's racial composition is associated with American Indian adolescent tobacco and marijuana use. Using a subsample of 523 American Indian students from the restricted use Add Health data, we consider both individual and school contextual factors across 99 schools. Our results suggest that a school's racial composition is associated with individual tobacco and marijuana use among American Indian youth, but in different ways depending upon the substance. Our findings illustrate the importance of extending research on the correlates of substance use for racial and ethnic minorities beyond studies examining African-Americans and/or Hispanics.