Gender Differences in Preferred Drug Resistance Strategies of Rural Native Hawaiian Youths

Abstract

This study examined the gender differences in preferred strategies used to resist drugs and alcohol for rural Native Hawaiian youth. Seventy-four youth (60% female) within eight different middle/intermediate or high schools participated in 15 different focus groups as part of a pilot/feasibility drug prevention study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Consistent with relational-cultural theory, qualitative findings indicated how female youth participants favored drug resistance strategies that maintained relational connectedness with the drug offerer, and how they considered the long-term relational consequences of different drug resistance strategies. Implications of these findings for indigenous- and gender-specific prevention are discussed.

Two- and three-year follow-up from a gender-specific, web-based drug abuse prevention program for adolescent girls

“…Nevertheless, the motivation and skills necessary to refuse drug use offers from age-mate and older peers likely differ for girls and boys. Prior work suggests that although girls face the same exposure to drug use offers as boys, they are less likely to exercise drug use refusal skills (e.g., saying "no," avoidance, changing the subject), presumably because girls perceive such strategies as having the potential for relational discord (Okamoto et al, 2014). The longitudinal data presented here suggests that tailored content can not only mitigate the internalizing symptoms that accompany female adolescence, but also enhance girls' abilities to navigate the complexities of peer and social influences.…”

An Evaluation of the Ho‘ouna Pono Curriculum: A Pilot Study of Culturally Grounded Substance Abuse Prevention for Rural Hawaiian Youth

“…Prior qualitative research has described how rural Hawaiian girls balance these two often conflicting goals, and the implications of this phenomenon for culturally grounded drug prevention for Hawaiian youth. 35 Although the increase in boys’ fighting was non-significant in the intervention group, it points to the need to develop more relevant applications of drug and violence resistance strategies for rural Hawaiian boys.…”

“…Specifically, drug offer situations and culturally specific refusal strategies described by the youth in the pre-prevention study were translated into short, narrative film scripts that were validated in a series of focus groups with Hawaiian youth. 35,36 The scripts were used to produce professional-grade short films depicting drug offer situations in rural Hawaiʻi, and youths’ use of culturally specific refusal strategies within each situation. 31 Recent formative evaluation research for another school-based prevention program for Hawaiian youth has suggested that these youth respond favorably to prevention videos with culturally familiar characters and images.…”

Gender Differences in the Use of Drug Resistance Strategies

“…For example, compared to indigenous boys, research has indicated that indigenous girls find it significantly more difficult to deal with situations where drugs and/or alcohol are offered (Dixon Rayle et al, 2006; Okamoto, Kulis, Helm, Edwards, & Giroux, 2010). Okamoto, Helm, McClain, et al (2013) suggest that this difficulty may stem from balancing personal goals of drug abstinence with the relational consequences of how abstinence is achieved. Saying “no,” for example, might have negative relational consequences, such as the offerer feeling offended by the rejection of the offer, which may deter girls from using these types of abrupt resistance skills.…”