BOARDING AND PUBLIC-SCHOOLS - NAVAJO EDUCATIONAL-ATTAINMENT, CONDUCT DISORDER, AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCY

Many critics of United States government operated boarding schools for American Indians have asserted that the boarding school experience ha s lasting deleterious effects on personality development. Specifically , if has been suggested that a boarding school education is likely to lead to problems with alcohol in adulthood To examine that assertion, data from interviews with over 1000 Navajos are analyzed concerning sc hooling, conduct disorder and the history of alcohol use. Consistent w ith data on the U.S. population generally, Navajo high school dropouts reported greater problems with alcohol than did graduates. Contrary t o expectations, Navajos with a history of alcohol dependency were no m ore likely to have attended boarding schools than those who did not re port patterns of alcohol dependency.