2010-2014
Principal Investigator: Geoffrey Hunt
Co-Principal Investigators: Karen Joe-Laidler and Bart Aoki
Supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA014317)
Our third project on club drug use in the San Francisco Bay Area, “Asian American Gay and Bisexual Men, Club Drugs, and Nightlife” is a continuation of our previous research project “Club Drugs, Dance Events and Asian American Youth. ” The primary aim of this project is to identify the settings in which Asian American Gay and Bisexual Men use club drugs, and develop contact with and interview 240 gay/bisexual Asian American men between the ages of 18 and 35 from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. In a continuation of our work from the first two club drugs projects, we will use both an in-depth qualitative interview instrument, and a pre-coded, quantitative interview schedule to collect information on the social, and ethnic subgroup characteristics of young Asian American club drug users, and the types and combinations of club drugs currently used.
We are interested in examining issues of drug use among gay and bisexual Asian American men, especially the meanings and connections between drug use, involvement in the gay scene and ethnic and sexual identity. A significant portion of this project will explore notions of identity and how Asian Americans of varying backgrounds, ages, and ethnic groups, conceptualize and negotiate their own sense of ethnic and sexual identity, particularly as it relates to their drug use.
Other more specific areas of interest include: experiences of discrimination within the gay and Asian communities, particularly as it relates to drug use; the role of drug use in the gay scene in the San Francisco Bay Area and experiences of drug use within the context of nightlife events targeting the Asian American community; and the relationship between drug use, dance event attendance and sexual practices.