Qualitative research is often conceptualized as inherently small-scale research, primarily conducted by a lone researcher enmeshed in extensive and long-term fieldwork or involving in-depth interviews with a small sample of 20 to 30 participants. In the study of illicit drugs, traditionally this has often been in the form of ethnographies of drug-using subcultures. Such small-scale projects have produced important interpretive scholarship that focuses on the culture and meaning of drug use in situated, embodied contexts. Larger-scale projects are often assumed to be solely the domain of quantitative researchers, using formalistic survey methods and descriptive or explanatory models. In this paper, however, we will discuss qualitative research done on a comparatively larger scale—with in-depth qualitative interviews with hundreds of young drug users. Although this work incorporates some quantitative elements into the design, data collection, and analysis, the qualitative dimension and approach has nevertheless remained central. Larger-scale qualitative research shares some of the challenges and promises of smaller-scale qualitative work including understanding drug consumption from an emic perspective, locating hard-to-reach populations, developing rapport with respondents, generating thick descriptions and a rich analysis, and examining the wider socio-cultural context as a central feature. However, there are additional challenges specific to the scale of qualitative research, which include data management, data overload and problems of handling large-scale data sets, time constraints in coding and analyzing data, and personnel issues including training, organizing and mentoring large research teams. Yet large samples can prove to be essential for enabling researchers to conduct comparative research, whether that be cross-national research within a wider European perspective undertaken by different teams or cross-cultural research looking at internal divisions and differences within diverse communities and cultures.

This article analyzes eating and beliefs about family meals in the qualitative interview narratives of 30 “at-risk” gang-involved young women in the San Francisco Bay Area. We begin our examination of consumption practices with a study of households and identify three major types–extended, single-parent and blended. Within these households, food purchasing and consumption activities are varied, and in many cases, our respondents rely upon extended family members and non-kin relations for support. In examining eating within the family, we identify two sets of practices and meanings: eating alone, and eating with others. Eating alone is symbolic of independence from one’s family of origin, or is the result of familial conflict at the dinner table; however, it does not necessarily change our respondents’ eating patterns. Eating with others in the family remains important, and many of the young women value family meals, although there are significant obstacles to eating regularly with the entire nuclear family. Many of these young women play an important role in the purchasing and preparation of food for family members as well. This paper highlights the importance of understanding family eating practices from the perspective of young people in the family, whose contribution to family ingestive practices has tended to be underestimated in much of available research literature.

Intoxication a state of altered consciousness brought about by the ingestion of intoxicants. Nighttime economy The term refers to those nighttime activities primarily associated with bars and clubs that take place within commercialized spaces in inner urban areas. Raves Although the precise origin of the word rave is unclear, with some writers associating it with boheminian parties in London in 1950s and others suggesting that raves began in the 1960s in San Francisco, by the late 1980s raves referred primarily to a dance parties, often unlicensed, where electronic music including acid house and techno music, was the music of choice. Asian American The pan-ethnic category “Asian American” comprises a large, diverse group of ethnic groups in the United States, representing dozens of cultures, national backgrounds, and languages, including those of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Indian, and Vietnamese descent. Emerging adulthood This term was coined to capture a life-course phase experienced by young adults in many contemporary western societies who are post-adolescence, but who have not yet achieved many of the traditional (twentieth century) life course markers that were associated with adulthood, such as completion of education, beginning of career, marriage, and parenthood (Arnett 2000)

This article examines the relationship between substance use and gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and nativity among 250 Asian American youths involved in the dance club/rave scene. We find distinct patterns of drug use differing by country of origin and ethnicity. However, contrary to some literature we do not find significant differences corresponding to immigration status, or number of years in the U.S. The most significant differences between subgroups are related to gender and sexuality: male respondents consume more drugs, more frequently than female respondents, and non-heterosexual respondents consume more than heterosexual respondents, with differing patterns for men’s and women’s sexual subgroups. There were also significant gender and sexuality differences with respect to the contexts in which respondents consume drugs, with the most significant differences being between heterosexual and non-heterosexual men. As we discuss, these findings illustrate the need for further investigation of drug use patterns of gender and sexuality within Asian American communities.

Research on drug use among gay and bisexual men has primarily focused on examining the link between drug use -most notably, methamphetamine -sexual practices, and risk of HIV transmission. Drawing on in-depth qualitative data from 40 interviews with gay and bisexual Asian American men, we examine perceptions and meanings associated with cocaine use in the San Francisco Bay Area gay community. We found that our participants, in contrast to their negative perceptions of methamphetamine use, believed that cocaine enhanced sociability and was acceptable for use in most social situations. Furthermore, participants perceived little connection between cocaine use and risky sexual practices, emphasizing the drug's safety relative to other illicit substances. Overall, these findings suggest that an increase in the favorability of cocaine use might be an unintended consequence of methamphetamine prevention campaigns, targeting the gay community, with their emphasis on the harmful effects of drug use, unsafe sex and HIV risk. Keywordsaddiction / substance use; bisexuals; ethnicity; gays and lesbians; health behavior; HIV/AIDS prevention; men's health; minorities; risk, behaviors; risk, perceptionsResearchers have documented particularly high levels of drug use among men who have sex with men (MSM) compared to the rest of the population (Cochran, Ackerman, Mays, & Ross, 2004;Greenwood et al., 2001). There have been relatively few large-scale studies comparing drug-use rates and patterns among heterosexuals and MSM, and differing sampling methods used in heterosexual and MSM studies are rarely equivalent . However, those studies that do make these comparisons between MSM and non-MSM drug users typically indicate higher rates of lifetime drug use (Cochran et al., 2004), polydrug use (Halkitis, Palamar, & Mukherjee, 2007;Stall & Wiley, 1988), and overall levels of drug consumption McDowell, 1999) among MSM. Notably, high levels of drug use have been documented among MSM in gay urban epicenters such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco (Clatts, Goldsamt, & Yi, 2005a&b;Grov et al., 2006;Stall & Purcell, 2000). Club drugs, in particular, have been associated with MSM. 1 For example, in studies comparing rates of drug use among MSM and heterosexuals in the dance and club scenes, researchers have highlighted higher rates of marijuana, cocaine, and popper use (McKirnan & Peterson, 1989); of crystal methamphetamine, ecstasy, and ketamine use (Lampinen, McGhee, & Martin, 2006); and of ketamine and methamphetamine use (Degenhardt, 2005) among MSM. Even though a fewCorresponding Author Dr. Geoffrey Hunt, Ph.D., Institute for Scientific Analysis, 1150 Ballena Blvd., Suite 211, Alameda, California 94501, USA huntgisa@ix.netcom.com. Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptQual Health Res. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 May 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manus...