Recorded presentation

Roosevelt Mosby¹, Rani Eversley, PhD², Alvan Quamina, JD¹, Russell Arias, PhD¹, and Charles Bradford¹. (1) SMAAC Youth Center, 1755 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612, 510-834-9578, smaacsed@aol.com, (2) Social and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF, Box 0612, San Francisco, CA 94143

Little is known about how to deliver culturally competent substance abuse prevention to youth who are both sexual and ethnic minority. The Sexual Minority Alliance of Alameda County (SMAAC) youth center serves over 1600 sexual minority youth (14-25) annually. Over 40% are young women and about 80% are African American. Preliminary data collected from these youth include 41% reporting drug use during the past month (including 11% who reported injecting drugs), 37% reporting using tobacco and 91% reporting a history of alcohol use. Eighty-eight percent reported that they are currently sexually active, 41% reported no condom use with vaginal sex, 17% reported no condom use with anal sex. Eleven percent reported trading sex for drugs, money, or housing. SMAAC has developed and is currently pilot testing a substance abuse prevention program titled SMAAC For Life designed to reduce drug and alcohol use among these young people. To date, 92 participants have been enrolled in a 10 session psycho-educational intervention. Preliminary results suggest that in order to provide culturally competent services to this population 1) African American LGBTQ young people's questions regarding sexual identity and sexual behavior need to be addressed, 2) African American LGBTQ young people need skills to address homophobia, social isolation as well as normative adolescent conflicts with family and school, 3) African American LGBTQ young people need skills to address and resist using substances as they become exposed to new behavioral options in the gay community.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will increase their ability to describe factors contributing to substance use among young African American gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (GBTQ) men.
• Participants will increase their ability to describe factors contributing to substance use among young African American lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) women.
• Participants will increase their ability to identify the contribution of substance abuse to sexual risk taking among young African American LGBTQ men and women.
• Participants will increase their ability to identify factors that make for a culturally competent substance abuse prevention intervention for young African American LGBTQ men and women.

Keywords: , Drug Abuse

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation