focus group vtspfsig final

8/4/2019 Focus Group VTSPFSIG Final

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VERMONT STRATEGIC PREVENTION FRAMEWORK

FOCUS GROUP GUIDE FOR YOUNG ADULTS

AGES 18 Through 25

PIRE 03/19/08 1


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Young Adult Focus Group Guide

Some sections of this guide were adapted from Shattuck and Associates, Inc., Program Planning& Evaluation, Mt Airy, MD, September, 2007. Other sections were adapted from focus group

materials recently developed for the Vermont Department of Health by Fifth Element Associates.

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Overview

Focus groups and other qualitative research methods can provide useful insights intoissues of interest insights that cannot easily be distilled from purely quantitativemethods such as closed-ended survey instruments. Because the priorities for Vermonts

SPF-SIG community grantees pertain to persons up to age 25 (age 21 for underagedrinking), it is important that community grantees learn as much as possible about theperceptions and attitudes of young adults in their communities. This focus group guide hasbeen designed to help grantees capture useful information about this particular age group information that hopefully will help grantees select and implement interventionstrategies that will truly make a positive impact on the priority problems they areattempting to address.

The questions in this guide focus primarily on obtaining information regarding causalfactors (also referred to as intervening variables or risk and protective factors) in the

community that lead to or facilitate problem behaviors, specifically: underage drinking,high risk drinking, and marijuana use. Identifying and learning more about what causes,encourages, and/or facilitates these behaviors should help community grantees determinehow best to intervene in order to reduce their occurrence. The focus group discussionsmay also lead to other types of insights and understanding that dont necessarily pertainto directly to causal factors. Thats OK, and encouraged. Community grantees maycertainly add additional questions to this guide that they believe are relevant tounderstanding to problems they are trying to address.

Community grantees are asked to conduct at least one focus group with 6 to 10 peopleaged 18 to 25. A second group, if possible, can often provide additional useful insightsand also help confirm (or challenge) impressions gained from the first group.

Conducting two focus groups, if possible, also provides the advantage of being able to splitthe groups by age. In particular, communities planning to ask the high risk drinkingquestions might have more productive discussions, and elicit more candid responses, if onegroup was conducted with underage persons (ages 18 through 20) and the other group withlegal age persons (ages 21 through 25). That approach would allow relatively more focus onthe underage drinking questions with 18-20 age group, and relatively more focus on thehigh risk drinking questions with the 21 to 25 year group. The decision to conductingseparate focus groups for these two sub-groups is left up to each community grantee. Weencourage you to consider this option and then select a strategy that you think is bothfeasible and will be most helpful to your assessment efforts.

The remainder of this guide includes recommendations for recruiting participants,scheduling and setting up the discussion, and how to facilitate the discussion. It also

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includes a set of specific questions and accompanying probes to be used during the session,and a suggested template for summarizing what you learn.The questions that will be used to guide the discussion are organized into three sections:underage drinking, high risk drinking, and marijuana use. At a minimum, the focus group

should address the questions that pertain to the communitys two SPF-SIG priorities (ifthey have already been identified). If the second priority has not been chosen yet, or thecoalition would find it helpful, questions that address all three of the states priority areasshould be used. It is estimated that the focus group will last around 90 minutes, withapproximately 40-45 minutes being devoted to each of the communitys two priorities. Ifall three priorities will be covered, an extra 30 minutes time should be allotted.

Reminders and other considerations

All of the VDH Prevention Consultants have completed focus groups on underage drinking

with parents within the past year. The PC in your area is a resource for significanttechnical assistance in planning and conducting your young adult focus group(s).

To increase the availability of potential participants, you may want to schedule your focusgroup(s) during the summer or other college break. This will depend on your community andwhether waiting for students to come home from school is likely to make recruitmenteasier. Keep in mind that the suggested time frame for completing this activity is by theend of June 2008 for Implementation grantees and between April and October 2008 forCapacity Building grantees.

You are encouraged to conduct focus groups with participants from other age groups orwith different roles in the community if this would suit the needs of youcoalition/organization. You are encouraged to use the same questions as those presentedbelow to the extent that it makes sense to do so because this will allow you to directlycompare responses from different focus groups.

We have been asked about adding questions to the focus group that cover content notspecific to risk and contributing factors of the priority problems (e.g., asking participantswhat type of prevention messages/strategies they think would be effective with their agegroup). We suggest that questions that stretch the focus group beyond its intended

purpose (risk factor assessment) would be best left for a separate focus group (e.g.,message testing around the time strategies are being selected), unless there was sometime remaining after the question in the guide had all been covered. You may find ithelpful to gather contact information from participants and let them know that you willlikely contact them to request their participation in future focus groups or relatedactivities.

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Recruitment

Participants can be recruited through a variety of strategies, including:

Placing adds in local newspapers Posting flyers in places where young adults can be found Posting a note on public web sites

Working with local organizations who have access to this population (includingvia email)

Sample materials for these methods above may be found in Appendix A.

Casting a wide net in terms of where you recruit will be helpful in obtaining a diversegroup. Please try to avoid getting all you participants from the same source (e.g.participants in the communitys adult softball league).

We strongly suggest that stipends be offered as an incentive for participation a stipendof $20 would be reasonable.

Persons who wish to volunteer should be instructed to call or email someone (thescreener) in your organization to indicate their interest in participating. They should betold at that time that you are just collecting names, and that they will be notified by aspecific date if they have been selected. Volunteers should also be told how long they canexpect the discussion to last. You might want to have some tentative dates and times inmind, or you can just wait and see what their time availability is before deciding on aspecific date and time.

A form for keeping track of volunteers is included in Appendix B. Please be sure that yourscreener records all the information shown on the form. When you have an adequatenumber of volunteers to form a diverse group (or two groups, if you decide to have two),you can then select the participants and notify all who applied of their status. For eachgroup, it is recommended that you select two more participants than the number you aretargeting, to account for so-shows and cancellations.

In selecting the group(s), keep in mind that it would be useful to have an approximatelyequal number of persons aged 18 to 20 and 21 to 25, and at least one man and one woman ineach age group. As mentioned, diversity in terms of where the volunteers were recruitedis also desirable.

All volunteers should be informed of their status as soon as the groups are selected. Inaddition, all participants should be sent a letter with the time, place, and otherinformation (see example in Appendix C).

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Become familiar with the discussion guide and procedures

Consider gathering a small group of coalition members to run through a brief mock

focus group to give you a chance to get comfortable with the questions and with

phrasing probes.

Talk with the PC in your area about their recent experience with running focus

groups and solicit their advice on conducting your own.

Preparation and Set-up

Identify a place, date, and time (prior to notifying participants)

Make sure in advance that the location is available and suitable (e.g., convenient fortarget participants, reasonably quiet, enough chairs, etc.)

Arrive early in case any set-up is needed

Capturing the information

You will either need a note-taker or, with the participants permission, audiotape thesession. Having an observer (or note-taker) can be helpful even if the discussion will beaudio taped

Creating a safe environment

Allot time for introductions, including yourself (as moderator), the note taker, thegoal of the focus group, and how the information will be used

Establish ground rules (e.g., respecting what each person says) Begin with an icebreaker question Consider providing drinks and a snack

Facilitating the discussion

Remain objective / withhold judgment (consider both verbal and nonverbal bodylanguage)

Listen carefully and occasionally reflect what you are hearing by paraphrasingresponses

Make eye contact, smile and thank participants for their input periodicallythroughout the group and at the end

Do not let one or two people dominate Encourage feedback from all participants Keep the group on track Let the group know up front that you may need to cut short discussions to ensure

that all questions can be asked.

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Wrapping up

With participants, reflect and summarize major themes or areas of the discussion Ask for any remaining comments Ask if there are any questions After the focus group, the moderator and note taker can debrief (reflect on the

discussion, coordinate next steps now that this information has been collected,etc.)

Complete the template provided in Appendix D for summarizing what you learned Send the completed summary form in Appendix D to

Katy CahillVDH/ADAP108 Cherry St.Burlington, VT 05401

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Discussion Guide

Introduction:

(The moderator will open the group discussion by briefly explaining to participants the purpose

of the focus group and highlighting what will be expected of them. The intent of this section is tomake respondents feel relaxed and comfortable.)

Hello, my name is __________. I would like to thank you all for coming out to participate in thisgroup. I work with/for __________, and we are conducting this discussion in an effort to geta better understanding of your views related to alcohol use (and marijuana use, if applicable)in your community.

Before we get started, there are a few things that I want to tell you. (NOTE: practice and putinto your own words):

I am going to ask you some questions about alcohol use (and marijuana use, if applicable).You will not be asked questions about your own behavior, but rather your views about issuesin your community.

I am very interested in everyones point of view. It is ok if you have different opinions; Iwould like to hear all of them. There are no wrong answers. I simply ask that we respect eachothers opinions.

It is very important that you do not speak at the same time. I would like to be able to heareach of you. So, please take turns and avoid side conversations.

I will remain objective. So, I ask that you please say what you think, not what you think Imight want to hear.

The groups will be audio recorded. This will allow me to go back and listen to each group,take notes, and then write a short summary of the findings. I want to reassure you that all ofyour comments will remain anonymous. Your names will not be directly linked withanything that you say.

Point out restrooms and ask participants to indicate if the room temperature gets too hot orcold during the discussion.

Do you have any questions before we begin?

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Participant Introduction:

Lets start off by going around the table with introductions.

Please tell me:

Your first name Favorite hobby or activity. (Icebreaker example.)

Again, thank you for coming. Lets get started.

Warm-up Questions:

(These are just some suggestions for getting conversation flowing before getting into the moredirect questions listed below. Feel free to use some, none, or all of these and to come up with

your own open-ended questions to get the conversation started.)

You have just seen data indicating that VT has the highest rate in the nation of past monthalcohol use and past year and month marijuana use among young adults (18-25 year olds). Is thissurprising to you? Why or why not?(show data fromhttp://healthvermont.gov/adap/prevention/SPF/documents/epiprofileexecsummary_final.pdf)

How would you say things have changed with respect to underage drinking, binge drinking, andmarijuana use since you were beginning high school?

What do you think is different with respect to underage drinking, binge drinking, and marijuanause now than when your parents were 18-25?

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Discussion Questions:

The questions contain probes that may be used, if necessary, to stimulate discussion or to ask foradditional information. Begin by asking only the question and then use probes as necessary.

SECTION 1: UNDERAGE DRINKING

Introduction: Now I would like to ask you some questions about underage drinking.

1. How acceptable is it for people under the age of 21 in this community to drinkalcohol? How acceptable is underage drinking to people your age? To parents and

other adults? To the community in general?

Probe:

Tell me whether there are situations in which it is seen as OK for people under the age of21 to drink.

What are some reasons it is seen as OK for people under the age of 21 in this communityto drink alcohol?

Family acceptance / Parents allow

Right of passage

Youth perceive it as cool, something to do

2. What risks do you think people under the age of 21 in this community associate withdrinking alcohol?

Probe:

What are some possible reasons that people under the age of 21 may perceive alcohol useto not be very risky? (listen for responses to this general questions, and further probewith some of the following possible reasons if necessary)

They dont think they will get cited or arrested

They dont think there will be serious consequences (from legal system)even if they are cited or arrested

They dont think there will be serious consequences (from parents) evenif they are cited or arrested

They are not aware of the potential risks of alcohol use to their health andsafety

Even if they are aware of the risks, they dont think those consequenceswill happen to them

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They dont care even if there will be negative consequencesIf this community identified high risk drinking as its second priority, skip the following

question (Q.3.) for now because it is included in the next section of questions.

3. How is alcohol promoted (or advertised) in this community and which types of

promotion do you see or hear most often?

Probe:

Advertising (e.g., on the radio or TV, on billboards, in the newspaper, atevents)

Through discount prices or drink specials (e.g., happy hours)

Availability at community events

4. Where do you think people under the age of 21 in this community get alcohol?

Probe:

Retail Access

liquor store?

grocery store?

bar?

restaurant?

Social Access

friends?

parents?

Older brothers and sisters

strangers?

parties

other social events?

5. Is it easy for people under the age of 21 in this community to get alcohol from thosesources?

Probe:

What are some reasons it is easy for people under the age of 21 in this community to getalcohol?

Retail Access

Bars, stores, and restaurants dont check ids

Social Access

Adults are unaware of penalties for providing alcohol to minors

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Lack of monitoring at social events

Lack of parental monitoring

6. Where do you think people under the age of 21 in this community drink alcohol?

7. If people under the age of 21 in this community who live with their parents drinkalcohol, how likely do you think it would be that their parents would find out and

what happens when they do?

8. How effective do you think this community is at enforcing laws against underagedrinking?

Probe:

If someone under the age of 21 was drinking, how likely is it that the police would findout?

How likely are police in this community to find out about and break up parties whereunderage people are drinking?

How likely is it that people would be arrested (and convicted) in these cases?

What are some reasons this community may not be effective at enforcing laws againstunderage drinking?

Lack of resources (e.g., personnel, training) Inconsistent application of laws

Not a priority

9. Can you think of any other things that influence alcohol use among people underthe age of 21 in this community?

Probe:

How strong are these influences relative to the things weve already discussed?

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SECTION 2: HIGH RISK DRINKING

Note: This section may be skipped if this community did not identify high risk drinking as

a priority.

Explain: Now, I would like to ask some questions about different patterns of alcohol use.

1. How acceptable is it in this community for people your age to have 5 drinks or morewithin an hour or two? This is also referred to as binge drinking. How acceptable

is it to people your age? To parents and other adults? To the community in

general?

Probe:

What are some reasons it is seen OK for people your age in this community to bingedrink?

Lack of knowledge of health and safety consequences

Perception that negative consequences wont happen to them (perceivedinvulnerability)

Youth perceive it as cool

2. How acceptable is it for people your age in this community to drink and drive?How acceptable is it to people your age? To parents and other adults? To the

community in general?

Probe:

What are some reasons it is seen as OK for people your age in this community to drinkand drive?

3. What risks do you think people in this community associate with binge drinking?

Probe:

What are some reasons people your age in this community may not perceive drinkinguntil they are drunk to be risky?



Low perception of getting cited or arrested

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Low perception of being punished (by legal system or parents)

4. What risks do you think people in this community associate with drinking anddriving?

Probe:

What are some reasons people your age in this community may not perceive drinking anddriving to be risky?





5. Where do you think people age 21 through 25 in this community drink alcohol?

6. How is alcohol promoted in this community and which types of promotions do yousee or hear the most?

Probe:

Advertising (e.g., on the radio or TV, on billboards, in the newspaper, atevents)

Through discount prices or drink specials (e.g., happy hours)

Availability at community events

7. How effective do you think this community is at enforcing laws against drinking anddriving?

Probe:

If someone your age was driving after having too much to drink, how likely is it that theywould be stopped by police?

How likely is it that the person would be arrested (and convicted) in this case?

What are some reasons this community may not be effective at enforcing laws againstdrinking and driving?

Lack of resources (e.g., personnel, training)

Inconsistent application of laws

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Not a priority

8. How effective do you think this community is at enforcing laws against servingsomeone who is obviously intoxicated?

Probe:

How likely is it that an obviously intoxicated adult, with proper ID, would be soldalcohol at a bar, restaurant, or store in this community?

What are some reasons this community may not be effective at enforcing laws againstserving people who are intoxicated?


Inconsistent application of laws

Not a priority

9. Can you think of any other things that influence risky patterns of alcohol use, such

as binge drinking and driving after drinking, among people your age in this

community?

Probe:

How strong are these influences relative to the things weve already discussed?

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SECTION 3: MARIJUANA USE

Note: This section may be skipped if this community did not identify marijuana use as a

priority.

Explain: Now, I would like to ask some questions about marijuana use.

1. How acceptable is it for people your age in this community to use marijuana? How

acceptable is it to people your age? To parents and other adults? To thecommunity in general?

Probe:

What are some reasons it is seen as OK for people your age in this community to usemarijuana?

Perceived as OK / Parents allow

Perceived as cool, something to do

Perceived as not harmful

2. What risks do you think people your age in this community associate with using

marijuana?

Probe:

What are some reasons people your age in this community may not perceive marijuanause to be risky?





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3. Where do you think people your age in this community get marijuana?

4. How easy is it for people your age in this community to get marijuana from thosesources?

Probe:

What are some reasons it is easy for people your age in this community to get marijuana?

Lack of monitoring at social events

Distribution and/or sale of marijuana is not a priority for law enforcement

5. Where do you think people your age in this community use marijuana?

6. If people your age in this community who live with their parents use marijuana,how likely do you think it would be that their parents would find out and what

happens when they do?

7. How effective do you think this community is at enforcing laws against marijuanause?

Probe:

What are some reasons this community may not be effective at enforcing laws againstmarijuana use?


Inconsistent application of laws Not a priority

8. What are other things that influence the use of marijuana in this community?

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Appendix A

Example Recruitment Materials

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Sample Ad

Looking for Young AdultsAre you between the ages of 18 and 25?

Then we need your input. The (name of your coalition/organization)is hosting a discussion group with young adults to gather local opinionsabout alcohol [and other drug] use.

[If offering a stipend: Each attendee will receive $20 for their time.]

Please call [insert first name] at[insert phone number] for more information.

(org name or logo here)

Sample Flyer (half-page)

Are you between the ages of 18

and 25?Then we need your input and experience. The (name of your

organization) is hosting a discussion group with young adults to gather

local opinions about alcohol [and other drug] use.

[If offering a stipend: Each attendee will receive $20 for their time.]

Please call [insert first name] at

[insert phone number] for more information.(org name or logo here)

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Sample Copy for Web Page

Persons between the ages of 18 and 25 We Need Your Opinions!

The (name of your organization) is hosting a discussion group with young adults to

gather local opinions about alcohol [and other drug] use. We would like to hear from you

about your attitudes and perceptions on these issues. [If offering a stipend: Each

attendee will receive $20 for their time.]

Please contact [insert name] by e-mailing [insert e-mail address and make link] or

calling [insert phone number] for more information.

Sample Copy for E-mail

SUBJECT LINE: Are you between the ages of 18 and 25?

Then we need you. The (name of organization) is hosting a discussion group with young

adults to gather local opinions about alcohol [and other drug] use. We would like to hear

from you about your attitudes and perceptions on these issues. [If offering a stipend:

Each attendee will receive $20 for their time.]

Please contact [insert name] by e-mailing [insert e-mail address and make link] or

calling [insert phone number] for more information.

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Appendix B

Volunteer Roster

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Young Adult Focus Group Volunteer Roster

Name Address Phone or email

Times available Gender Age Where recruited

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.

24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.


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Appendix C

Sample Letter to Participants


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Month xx, 2007

NameAddressCity, ST zip

Dear [insert name]:

Thank you for agreeing to participate in our focus group. The purpose of the group is to better understand yourviews about alcohol [and marijuana] use among persons your age. The information collected will help us workwith other organizations in our community to reduce problems associated alcohol [and marijuana] use.

Everything you say within the context of the group will remain confidential. Nothing you say will be linked directlywith you. Also, this is not a sales presentation of any type and will not result in one. It is purely to gather yourvaluable views and opinions. The group will be conducted by [insert name].

We only plan for a certain number of people for the group, so please dont bring anyone not invited to the groupwith you. They will not be able to participate or observe it. If you wear contacts lens, glasses or anything else tobe able to read, please remember to bring them with you. Also, we are not able to provide childcare ortransportation to or from the group.

We ask that you arrive at [time time minutes before start time] as the group will start promptly at [time]. [Ifoffering a stipend insert: You will receive a check or cash for participating in this group.] We anticipate the groupwill last approximately 90 [or 120] minutes. [If providing food insert: A beverage and snack will be provided.]

We are enclosing directions to [insert location], for your reference.

Thank you again for your help with this project. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [inserttelephone number].

Best regards,

NameTitlee-mail address

The group will be held on:

Day of Week, Month xx

from ___PM to ___ PMat

[insert location]


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Appendix D

Focus Group Summary Template


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Vermont SPF-SIG Community Grantee:

Focus Group Summary Date of focus group:

Age range of participants:

1. What are the three most significant things you learned (or confirmed) from this activity?

2. Did you learn anything that was a surprise to you?

3. What useful information did you obtain about causal factors for underage drinking?

a Low perceived risk

b Social norms thataccept or encourage

c Low enforcement oflaws

d Easy access toalcohol

e Lack of parental

monitoringf Promotion and

pricing

g Other causal factorsnot listed above

4. What useful information did you obtain about causal factors for high risk alcohol use bypersons under age 26 (if this priority was addressed)?





e Lack of parentalmonitoring

f Promotion andpricing

g Other causal factors


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not listed above

5. What useful information did you obtain about causal factors for marijuana use by personsunder age 26 (if this priority was addressed)?





e Lack of parentalmonitoring

f Other causal factorsnot listed above

6. Were any insights gained on promising strategies or ideas on how best to address importantcausal factors?

7. Do you have any other summary observations or comments on what was learned and/or theusefulness of the focus group to your planning and capacity building efforts?

8. What follow-up activities related to this effort (if any) were identified?

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