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

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.