Putting in Work: Qualitative Research on Substance Use and Other Risk Behaviors Among Gang Youth in Los Angeles

Abstract

Gang youth are notoriously difficult to access for research purposes. Despite this difficulty, qualitative research about substance use among gang youth is important because research indicates that such youth use more substances than their nongang peers. This manuscript discusses how a small sample of gang youth (n = 60) in Los Angeles was accessed and interviewed during a National Institute of Drug Abuse-funded pilot study on substance use and other risk behaviors. Topics discussed include the rationale and operationalization of the research methodology, working with community-based organizations, and the recruitment of different gang youth with varying levels of substance use.

RÉSUMÉ

Mettre dans le Travail : Recherche qualitative sur l’Usage de Substance et Autres Comportements de Risque Parmi Jeunesse de Bande dans Los Angeles

La jeunesse de bande est notoirement difficile d’accéder à pour les buts de recherche. Malgré cette difficulté, cette recherche qualitative de l’usage de substance parmi la jeunesse de bande est importante parce que la recherche indique que tel plus de substances d’usage de jeunesse que leur nongang scrute. Ce manuscript discute comment un petit échantillon de jeunesse de bande (n = 60) dans Los Angeles a été accédé à et a été interviewé pendant un Institut National d’étude de pilote Usage des stupéfiants-Subventionné sur l’usage de substance et les autres comportements de risque. Les sujets discutés incluent le raisonnement et operationalization de la méthodologie de recherche, travaillant avec la communauté organisations basées, et le recrutement de jeunesse de bande différente avec les niveaux variables d’usage de substance.

RESUMEN

Poner en el Trabajo: La Investigación cualitativa en el Uso de Sustancia y Otras Conductas de Riesgo Entre Juventud de Pandilla en Los Angeles

La juventud de la pandilla es notoriamente difícil de conseguir acceso a para propósitos de investigación. A pesar de esta dificultad, investigación cualitativa acerca del uso de sustancia entre juventud de pandilla es importante porque investigación indica que tal uso de juventud más sustancias que su nongang mira. Este manuscrito discute cómo una pequeña muestra de juventud de pandilla (N = 60) en Los Angeles fue conseguir acceso a y fue entrevistado durante un Instituto Nacional de Dopaje-Financió estudio piloto en el uso de sustancia y otras conductas de riesgo. Los temas discutidos incluyen la base y operationalization de la metodología de investigación, trabajando con la comunidad organizaciones basadas, y con la contratación de juventud diferente de pandilla con variar niveles del uso de sustancia.

Keywords: :

• community-based organization
• drug risk level
• gang youth
• gang specialist
• in-depth interview
• risk behaviors

THE AUTHORS

Bill Sanders, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics at California State University, Los Angeles. He has approximately 20 publications on a diverse range of topics, including injection drug use, club drug use, polydrug use, drug sales, homeless youth, gang youth, youth culture, and urban ethnography.

Stephen E. Lankenau, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Departments of Pediatrics and Preventative Medicine. Trained as a sociologist, he has studied street-involved and other high-risk populations for the past 10 years, including ethnographic projects researching homeless panhandlers, prisoners, sex workers, and injection drug users. Currently, he is a principal investigator of a four-year NIH study researching prescription drug misuse among high-risk youth in New York and Los Angeles.

Jennifer Jackson Bloom received her MPH with a specialization in epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She works in the Community Health Outcomes, and Intervention Research Program at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Her research interests include behavioral risk in substance-using populations, modeling longitudinal change in substance use, and the application of geography to drug use(r) research.

Notes

1 The journal's style utilizes the category substance abuse as a diagnostic category. Substances are used or misused; living organisms are and can be abused. Editor's note.

2 California's home sale price median by city recorded in April 2007. Available at www.dgnews.com/ZIPCAR.shtm.

3 Treatment can be briefly and usefully defined as a planned and goal-directed change process of necessary quality, appropriateness, and conditions (endogenous and exogenous), which is bounded (culture, place, time, etc.) and can be categorized into profession-, tradition, and mutual-help-based (AA, NA, etc.) and self-help (“natural recovery”) models. There are no unique models or techniques used with substance users—of whatever types—which aren't used with nonsubstance users. In the West, with the relatively new ideology of “harm reduction” and the even newer Quality of Life (QOL) treatment-driven model, there are now a new set of goals in addition to those derived from/associated with the older tradition of abstinence-driven models. Editor’'s note.

4 See Katz and Jacob-Jackson (2004) and Short and Hughes (2006) for a discussion on the progress of gang research.

5 Crack cocaine has been referred to as “rock.” The word “rock” in Spanish is “piedra,” hence the term “P-dogs,” when referring to cannabis joints containing crack.

6 For instance, Uman et al. (2006) were able to interview gang males and females in Los Angeles in the 17–26 years age range about substance use and other risk behaviors through the assistance of outreach workers.