Understanding Neighborhoods’ Impact on Youth Substance Use and Mental Health Outcomes in Paterson, New Jersey: Protocol for a Community-Based Participatory Research Study

Abstract

Background Substance use among youth is a major public health concern. Of note, substance use among youth is increasing in prevalence, and the incidence of substance use at earlier ages is rising. Given the long-term consequences of early substance use, it is important to identify factors that increase youth vulnerability to drug use, as they may be important targets for future interventions. Objective This study aims to use innovative methods, such as venue-based sampling, to recruit youth who are disconnected from school and use community-based participatory research to gain a better understanding of the prevalence of substance use and important correlates among youth aged between 13 and 21 years in Paterson, New Jersey, a low-income, urban community. The study will use a convergent, mixed methods design involving multiple data collection components and the analysis of a ministrative data source, designed with the strengths of complex intervention frameworks in mind. The overall aims of the study are to identify the prevalence of substance use among youth who are engaged in school and not engaged in school; to understand important antecedents and correlates of substance use; and to use this information to inform social, environmental, and culturally appropriate interventions to address substance use and its correlates among youths in a lower-resourced urban community. Methods This study will use both qualitative and quantitative methods to address important questions. Specifically, semistructured interviews using focus group and interview methodologies will be used to assess youths’ lived experiences and will account for specific details that quantitative methods may not be able to attain. In addition, quantitative methods will be used to examine direct and multilevel associations between neighborhood factors and youth substance use and mental health outcomes. Results A previous analysis from a substance use initiative in Paterson, New Jersey found that youth who use substances such as marijuana and alcohol are more likely to have higher rates of depression and anxiety. On the basis of the research questions, this study will examine the association between neighborhood characteristics, substance use, and mental health symptoms among youth in Paterson by using quantitative and qualitative methods and will use these findings to inform the adaptation of a community- and evidence-based substance use prevention intervention for these youths. Conclusions The findings of this study will provide an important contribution to understanding the role of socioecological factors in predicting substance use and mental health outcomes among youth in a lower-resourced, urban community. Furthermore, these findings will serve as evidence for the development of a culturally informed, community-based prevention program to address substance use disparities for youth, including those who are truant in Paterson, New Jersey. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/29427

Brief Parent-Child Substance Use Education Intervention for Black Families in Urban Cities in New Jersey: Protocol for a Formative Study Design

“…Over 90% of the city's population identify as either Hispanic (57.7%) or as African American or Black (34.7%) and nearly one-third are foreign-born residents [47]. The principal investigator's (PI's) work in the city shows that Paterson youths who drank alcohol during the past 30 days were 3 times more likely to smoke marijuana before being aged 14 years [48]. In terms of accessibility, 60% of Paterson youths purchased alcohol from liquor stores and 40% of Paterson adolescents also admitted to having adults purchase their alcohol from liquor stores [48].…”

“…The principal investigator's (PI's) work in the city shows that Paterson youths who drank alcohol during the past 30 days were 3 times more likely to smoke marijuana before being aged 14 years [48]. In terms of accessibility, 60% of Paterson youths purchased alcohol from liquor stores and 40% of Paterson adolescents also admitted to having adults purchase their alcohol from liquor stores [48]. Additionally, the city is currently facing an extreme opioid crisis with Paterson being ranked the 2nd city in New Jersey for the highest rate of heroin overdoses [49].…”

Virtual recruitment and participant engagement for substance use research during a pandemic

“…Community health workers, citizen scientists, and other stakeholders offered valuable insight into population-specific concerns, especially recruitment barriers, which are not well documented in the literature as well as community-based assets, infrastructure, and resources to assist with recruitment. In a research protocol for a mixed-methods study, Opara et al detailed engaging the youth and community advisory board to identify relevant recruitment venues and to distribute recruitment flyers [27]. Yamaguchi et al partnered with a local research consultant to assist with interpretation and cultural brokering when the research team recruited and conducted interviews and focus group discussions regarding alcohol drinking practices and associated cultural values in the Peruvian Andean highland [28 ▪▪ ].…”

“…Given the high - and rising-prevalence of social media/networking use [33], one strategy used to facilitate the essential inclusion of underrepresented populations for substance use research was recruitment via social media and networking platforms [34]. Recruitment via social media sites, such as Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, Craigslist, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Snapchat, has been reported in many studies, including in projects conducted prepandemic [21 ▪▪ ,27,34,35,36 ▪ ,37–45]. Social media recruitment allowed for targeted recruitment messages to be tailored toward specific community populations, and included postings on forums or paid advertising [34,35,46].…”