title: Let our voices be heard: Urban minority adolescents share their perspectives regarding substance abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention messages.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study explored the substance abuse and human immunodeficiency virus prevention needs of urban minority adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six 1-hour focus groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two high schools and two community-based organizations located in the city of Paterson, New Jersey.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample included 41 African-American and Latino youth, ranging in ages from 13 to 18 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected through six focus group interviews. Each group discussion was audio-recorded and transcribed. Qualitative software was then used to facilitate the processes of thematic analysis, until emergent themes transcended the data. To bolster the rigor and confirmability of analysis, additional researchers coded stratified selections of transcript.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Study participants were able to identify the environmental threats and structural deficits impacting their city. Few of the youth were able to recognize substance abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention messages in their immediate surroundings. Additionally, most participants indicated that prevention messages must be delivered in authentic ways from relatable sources in order to resonate with their audience.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings emphasize the importance of infusing the adolescents' voices into the design and implementation of health promotion messages, which could serve to increase their receptivity and responsiveness, and the overall resonance of the interventions.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Garcia-Reid
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Forenza
authors.forename: Caitlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eckert
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carrier
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Drag
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017144:Focus Groups; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D006293:Health Promotion; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D009515:New Jersey; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: Community Empowerment; Focus Groups; Health focus: social health; Manuscript format: research; Outcome measure: behavioral; Prevention Research; Racial and Ethnic Minority Youth; Research purpose: descriptive; Risk and Protective Factors; Setting: school, local community; Strategy: built environment; Study design: qualitative; Substance Abuse and HIV/AIDS Health Promotion Messages; Target population age: youth; Target population circumstances: geographic location, race/ethnicity