The RAVE study

This project is an investigation of the drug use and harm reduction knowledge and strategies employed by young people who attend 'rave' dance parties in Perth. The one and a half hour interviews are being conducted in two parts. The first is an audio-taped semi-structured qualitative interview, during which interviewees are asked to take the interviewer on a 'trip' from when they first heard about a recent rave, through preparation for the event, the rave itself and the post rave experiences. A structured questionnaire with a self-completion sexual behaviour section forms the second part of the interview. Topics include drug history, rave-related drug use, HIV risk behaviour, knowledge of drug related harm, and demographic information. Eighty subjects are being recruited through flyers in clothing and music stores which cater to the rave scene and through snowballing. Subjects are to have attended a rave in the previous six months, and are paid $20 for their time and experience.