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To ease their sense of isolation, these youth may seek out and begin to spend time in gay venues, such as bars or clubs, where they may find acceptance, but also be introduced to illicit drugs, including “club drugs.” These negative reactions may in turn result in a range of health and mental health problems ( Martin & Hetrick, 1988 Savin-Williams, 1990a Savin-Williams & Lenhart, 1990), including alcohol and drug use.
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Among those that have “come out”, families may not react well to this disclosure ( Telljohann & Price, 1993), with negative reactions ranging from “tolerance” rather than active support of the individual to extreme hostility, abuse, and violence ( Hunter, 1990 Remafedi, 1987). YMSM may resist disclosure of their sexuality out of fear of rejection by peers or family members ( Carpineto et al., 2006 Gonsiorek, 1988 Savin-Williams, 1989, 1990b). Moreover, the struggle to develop and integrate a positive adult identity, a primary developmental task for all adolescents, becomes an even greater challenge for YMSM given the disapproval, discrimination, and homophobia many experience ( D'Augelli & Herschberger, 1993 Gonsiorek, 1988 Hetrick & Martin, 1987 Hunter & Mallon, 1999 Ryan & Futterman, 1997 Savin-Williams, 1989, 1990b Telljohann & Price, 1993 Uribe & Harbeck, 1992). While connectedness with family has repeatedly been found to be highly protective against drug use and other risky behaviors among young people ( Flaherty & Richman, 1986 Kobak & Sceery, 1988 Sarason, Pierce, Bannerman, & Sarason, 1993 Sneed, Morisky, Rotheram-Borus, Ebin, & Malotte, 2001 Sroufe & Fleeson, 1986), YMSM often find themselves feeling disconnected and isolated from their families because of their sexuality. For many YMSM, adolescence is a time of rejection from family and friends, stigmatization, and social isolation. While it is now well understood that most adolescents will experiment with alcohol and drugs at some point during their teens ( Arnett, 2000), there is also considerable evidence that young men who have sex with men (YMSM) 1 are at particularly high risk for drug use.