Important new study looks at differences in substance use among sexual minorities using an innovative sampling method.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) recently awarded funding to College of Applied Sciences and Arts School of Social Work Professor Laurie Drabble and Alcohol Research Group Scientist Karen Trocki for their study on rates of alcohol consumption, hazardous drinking patterns, and tobacco and illicit drug use among sexual minority women (SMW).The researchers will apply and test innovative methods and techniques for sampling rare populations in addition to comparing outcomes between populations.

Drabble and Trocki also hope to identify individual, community and societal factors that may contribute, either positively or negatively, to substance use outcomes. Such factors may include policies on same-sex marriage, social support and psychological distress.

Drabble said she had the support of a San José State University Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity grant to support her work with her research colleagues to put together the collaborative National Institute of Health grant proposal. The Alcohol Research Group is an Oakland-based Public Health Institute that is a leader in epidemiological and public health studies of alcohol consumption patterns and problems from over-consumption, as well as innovative studies of the many ways communities and agencies mitigate harms and treat alcohol dependence, according to its website.