A research grant has been awarded to Dr. Amy Hequembourg of the Research Institute on Addictions, with the intention of focusing exclusively on the addictions of members of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community.
Though substance abuse and sexual orientation have each had their turns in the media spotlight, no research until now has attempted to link the two.
The grant is funded by the National Institute of Health, with the experiment being labeled as a C.O.P.E. study (Conversations on Personal Experience).
"There is very little data on the substance abuse rate of GLB's (Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals)," Hequembourg said. "The primary goal of this study is to add insight to this subject by examining a large sample of members of the GLB community."
In accordance with prior studies sampling the GLB community, Dr. Hequembourg had reason to believe members might be more at risk for drug and alcohol addiction due to the potentially stressful situations one might receive on a daily basis based on sexual orientation.
"We will be conducting 400 interviews with GLB's from around the area," Hequembourg said. "The method we will use in recruiting participants for our study is called 'Respondent Driven Sampling'.
Hequembourg said that an initial 10-15 participants would be recruited from each specific group, and those participants could then branch out and recruit other peers.
"The initial participants (will be) receiving financial stipulation for every new subject they bring for the study," she said.
The research grant in itself is quite the achievement for Dr. Hequembourg, as it is labeled as the Mentored Career Development Award.
"The grant presents us with five years of funding, providing two key components," Heqeumbourg said. "The training component provides us with the opportunity to further the statistical goal we are looking to accomplish, and the Research Component provides us with the adequate means of resources necessary in order to examine the large sample of participants that is required."
Hequembourg will begin the study during the summer of 2007, with her research extending as long as 2012.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
