Participatory Drug Prevention Research in Rural Hawai`i With Native Hawaiian Middle School Students

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This paper describes a prevention study focused on the drug use scenarios encountered by Native Hawaiian youth. Priorities from communities on the Big Island of Hawai;i helped to shape the qualitative data collection and analysis of middle school students participating in the study. METHODS: Forty-seven youth from five different schools were interviewed in small, gender-specific focus groups during lunch hour or after school. RESULTS: The findings indicated that youth were exposed to drug offers that were direct-relational or indirect-contextual in nature. Direct-relational offers were didactic exchanges where drugs or alcohol were offered from one individual to another (e.g., "Do you want some beer?"). Indirect-contextual offers reflected complex exchanges among individuals, where drugs or alcohol were involved, but not offered directly (e.g., "Do you want to hang out with us?"). CONCLUSIONS: Implications are discussed regarding drug prevention research and programs that highlight indirect-contextual drug offers that are place based and culturally grounded.