Recipients

Substance abuse, particularly solvent abuse, is a serious problem among First Nations youth that hasn’t received significant research attention. Dr. Randy Duncan is examining the effectiveness of Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) as a treatment for the abusers. EAL programs are designed to engage youth in experiential learning, with some incorporating an educational philosophy based on an Aboriginal worldview.

The EAL program requires youth to participate in activities with both the horse and the other youth in the treatment program. The goal of the program is to teach skills that will improve individual functioning and communal wellbeing, thereby helping the youth when they return to their home communities. They work with horses with the aim of improving their abilities to get along with others, speak and listen, and be leaders. Using the learning goals of the program, Dr. Duncan is preparing a culturally competent tool that takes into account the significance of the Aboriginal view of the horse, to measure the objectives of the program.

By identifying the benefits of EAL programs, based on the Aboriginal view of the importance of the horse, in the treatment of First Nations youth who abuse solvents, Dr. Duncan intends to determine impact. Done effectively, the combination of adequate psychometric properties and substantive interpretation, based on an Aboriginal worldview, will increase community knowledge and capacity building, and promote continuity.

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