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Sexual minority young people use licit and illicit substances at disproportionate levels. However, little is known about the perceptions of substance use among members of LGBT communities. This paper reports the results of a content analysis of 45 semi-structured interviews about substance use in LGBT communities with sexual minority young people (n = 31) and community stakeholders (n = 14). Results indicated both sexual minority youth and community stakeholders perceived the use and acceptance of substances to be higher in LGBT communities compared to the general population. Participants identified a range of characteristics potentially leading to higher levels of substance use including peer pressure, high exposure to substance use, and the high concentrations of licensed venues in LGBT communities. Marginalisation, discrimination and mental health were also perceived as important reasons for these disparities. Community stakeholders identified a range of potential interventions including legislation to address discrimination and substance use, increased services and activities, advertising in commercial LGBT venues and social media, and reinvigorating community cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth alcohol consumption has been steadily declining in Australia, as in other countries; fewer young people are drinking and the age of initiation is increasing. However, young people, their parents and others in their communities continue to believe that adolescent (excessive) drinking is the norm. This perception, and the concurrent misperception that the majority of parents are happy to provide their underage children with alcohol, creates a perceived culture of acceptance of youth alcohol consumption. Young people believe that it is accepted, and even expected, that they will drink; and parents perceive that not providing their adolescent children with alcohol will lead to social exclusion. There is evidence that shifting social norms can have an immediate and lasting effect adolescents’ (and adults’) alcohol related attitudes and behaviors. This paper reports on a novel, community based social marketing intervention designed to correct misperceptions of alcohol related social norms in an Australian community. The project utilized a social marketing approach, informed by the full complement of Andreasen’s social marketing benchmarking criteria, and concurrently targeted adolescents, parents of adolescents and the broader community. Using extensive formative research and multiple evaluation techniques, the study demonstrates that shifts in community social norms are possible and suggests that this approach could be used more widely to support the positive trends in youth alcohol consumption and parental supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]