Substance Abuse and Teenage Violence - Research Proposal Example

 Substance Abuse and Teenage Violence A Research Proposal Topic: ‘Is substance abuse one of the environmental factors causing teens to become violent?’ Abstract Overindulgence in licit and illicit substance abuse has a direct impact upon behavioral patterns in teenagers. Among many other disastrous impacts caused by substance use, teenage violence is one that creates adverse impacts upon the lives of the teenagers and those around them. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, this research will examine the responses and narratives of teenagers of a renowned educational institution/high school. A questionnaire will be distributed among the teenagers, and a similar questionnaire will be distributed among their parents and teachers. A structured interview will also be conducted with a health expert. The findings are expected to imply that substance abuse is directly related to teenage violence. Data will be collected in person and through postage, and will be analyzed subsequently to deduce the findings. Although the research will shed extensive light upon the relationship between substance abuse and teenage violence, there will be need for further research to take this study at a broader level where a larger sample should be considered with diverse socio-economic and educational backgrounds. Introduction Whether biological and genetic factors are responsible for the violent behavior of an individual, or it is the environmental or evolutionary influence that makes one perform violent acts, has always been a hot debate. Violence and the adoption of violent behavior, in general, are attributed to many causes and events that happen in one’s life. Mental illness, offensive relationship, poverty, abusive childhood, lost parents, social deprivation, and many other factors are linked with violence. One of these factors is substance abuse, which is the condition in which an individual starts consuming copious amounts of drugs or alcohol. Drugs include cocaine, heroin, and anti-anxiety drugs like benzodiazepines, antidepressants and beta-blockers. Overindulgence of these drugs poses risk to the consumer’s life, as it becomes the cause of many serious illnesses. One effect of substance abuse is the violent behavior shown by the individual. However, research related to sociopathy and psychopathy shows that violent activities are generally committed by individuals whose psychological functioning is different from normal individuals, which leads to the fact that violence should not only be understood as an evolutionary aspect of human nature, because there is also a causal relationship between abnormal brain chemistry and violence. The research here is going to revolve around teenagers, so let’s limit our discussion to teenagers. Substance abuse in teenagers has become a social problem in our society. A problem becomes a social problem when some people of the community begin to get affected by it or start thinking about it as being an undesirable situation needing a solution. There is a collective unwelcoming to this problem from the community. Causes are manifold. The most important cause is peer pressure. Teenagers see others doing it, and so, they want to do it too, because the media, bars and companies make alcohol and drugs sound like a fun activity. They turn out breaking the laws and standing liable for penalties. Studies have suggested that most teens drink out of their excitement that they get in breaking the law. Disastrous effects of substance abuse in teenagers include affected brain activity, memory and concentration; increased emotional mood swings; inability to perceive the direction of sound; dysfunctional reproductive system; and, increased risk of breast cancer. Consumption of alcohol at a young age badly affects learning, memory, thinking capacity, judgment, and decision-making capability. Teenage violence, which is the effect under consideration here, includes a teen’s getting affected by his criminal behavior, which may get him into serious trouble. He is disrespectful toward laws; deceitful because of, say, consistent lying or stealing; aggressive; irritable; irresponsible toward his duties; and, most of all, he does not show remorse over his behavior. He often gets involved in physical fights, hurting him and others. He is also not neglectful in academics, which brings him bad school reports. He carries unhealthy relationships both at home and at school/college due to his abusive behavior. Hence, it can be stated that substance abuse is a major cause of many negative behavioral patterns shown by teenagers; and, one such negative behavior is teenage violence. Literature Review Literature and research not only focuses on the genetic and biological factors related to the adoption of violent behavior in teenagers, but also discusses the evolutionary factors that compel them to conduct violent behavior. The famous nature versus nurture debate emphasizes the fact that humans are not inherently violent; instead, they are forced to show violence through their social or cultural experiences like substance abuse. No violent behavior has been programmed into our genetic makeup, and so, it is not correct to identify any biological reasons for violence. Dr. Cindy Haines (2012, par.3) talks about the repercussions of binge drinking at young age, and states in her article that “more than 38 million American adults binge drink”, of which young adults are the most frequent binge drinkers, and this results in 40,000 deaths each year and $167 billion dollars in cost. However, According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012, p.14), binge drinking in U.S. results in “80,000 average annual deaths and three quarters of $223.5 billion in economic costs.” Both the sources verify the fact that most of the binge drinkers are young adults. Ellickson, Saner and McGuigan (1997) studied the co-occurrence of substance abuse and teenage violence in high school seniors, and found that more than half the sample of participants was engaged in violent behavior; and, that behavior co-existed with many other negative health behaviors, of which drug use was a significant one. Supporting the same results, Temple et al. (2013) suggested that substance use (alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs) is a major predictor of physical dating violence among adolescents. When this substance abuse co-exists with family violence, then the chances of teenage violence significantly increases. Temple and Freeman (2010) had studied the same thing in 2010, and had found that overindulgence of licit and illicit substances (alcohol, sniffing glue, marijuana, ecstasy, Vicodin, Xanax) among teenage students was a major cause of teenage dating violence. There is a lot of research that supports the relation between substance abuse and dating violence. Studying the relation between alcohol use and dating violence perpetration (DVP) among teenage students, Rothman et al. (2012, p.103) used meta-analytic procedures to determine that “higher levels of alcohol use are positively associated with youth DVP.” O’Meara et al. (2012) studied the involvement of alcohol in patients with facial fractures; and, found that in a large number of cases where interpersonal violence showed itself in the form of injuries like facial fractures, alcohol was involved. This meant that patients who used alcohol substantially were more involved in interpersonal violence than those who did not. This study explains how alcohol dependence is related to violence. “Teen cocaine use was also directly predicted by teen community violence exposure and caregiver negativity”, states Delaney-Black et al. (2011, p.110), supporting the fact that teen community showed violent behavior when it used drugs. Hence, it is seen that the overindulgence in all kinds of licit and illicit drugs and alcohol is one of the major causes of teenage violence. This violence may be “other-directed violence only, self-directed violence only, combined other- and self-directed violence”, as is studied by Harford, Yi and Freeman (2012, p. 349). They stated in their research that “the frequency of binge drinking and other substance use were significant risk factors for each of the violence categories relative to no violence” (p.349). The study I propose here is a comparative research of teenagers who indulge in substance use and those who do not, so that a comparative conclusion is reached as to what is the difference in behavioral patterns between the two groups. Hypotheses It is very important to study the negative behavioral patterns in teenagers that are being caused by overconsumption of alcohol and drugs, so that positive measures can be taken by the government and the families of the offenders to rectify this problem. So, in order to strengthen the fact that substance abuse is becoming a major social problem, the hypothesis of this research is: Since substance abuse among teenagers leads to teenage violence, hence there will be a statistically significant difference in the behavioral patterns shown by teenagers who indulge in substance abuse as compared to those who do not indulge in substance abuse. Null Hypothesis “There is no significant difference in the behavioral patterns shown by teenagers who indulge in substance abuse as compared to those who do not indulge in substance abuse.” Statement of Purpose I am proposing this research because this will be an interesting comparison between the two groups of participants- one that is involved in substance abuse and one that is not. Not much literature in the past presents a comparative approach. Independent and Dependent Variables Keeping under consideration the hypothesis of the research, the independent variable is “indulgence in substance abuse”, and the dependent variable is “teenage violence”. Research Questions The research will focus on these questions: What is the difference in behavioral patterns shown by teenagers who indulge in substance abuse and those teenagers who do not indulge in substance abuse? Are the addicted teenagers violent? What type of violence do they project? Do they break laws? Do they have disturbed relationships at school and home? What kind of company they keep? What are the reasons behind their indulgence in substance abuse? Are they willing to reach out for help or assistance to rectify their behavior or indulgence in substance abuse? These are the main questions that this research is going to highlight, as these will help in reaching the conclusion that substance abuse leads to teenage violence. Method Sample and Design The methodology for the research will include a questionnaire given to 100 male and female college students aged between 15 and 19. The population of interest includes teenagers between age 15 and 19; and, this age is selected as these teenagers are more prone to substance abuse due to peer pressure and social influence. The questionnaire will include items asking them whether or not they are indulged in any type of substance abuse, and if yes, then what effects do they feel. I will, then, give a similar kind of questionnaire to the teachers and parents of the same participants to figure out the difference in the responses of the students and their teachers and parents. To back up my research, I also plan to conduct a structured interview with a health expert, to take his comments about the relation between substance abuse and teenage violence. The interview will be based on the similar questions as are mentioned above in research questions section. I will collect data and statistics, and will organize them in charts and tables. The whole research will take around two month Data Collection Data will be collected through questionnaires prepared using Tailored Design Method. Tailored Design Method consists of precise groundwork and distribution of questionnaires so that response rate is increased. I predict that, due to the efficiency of this method, many participants will find themselves willing to share their personal experiences and stories in the form of narratives at the end of their questionnaires. Filled questionnaires will be kept track of so that none of them gets missed accidentally, especially if I plan to collect these through postage. The participants will be encouraged to openly express their views and opinions so that a better idea may be obtained to facilitate in making a comparison between the indulging and non-indulging teenage behaviors. As far as the personal interview with the health expert is concerned, structured interview will be prepared consisting of questions relating to substance abuse and its relation with teenage violence. Appointment will be taken. The interviewee will talk about the nature of negative behavioral patterns experienced by teenagers who indulge in substance abuse. Proposed Analyses After the data will be collected, the analysis part of the research will be conducted. The responses to the questionnaire item will be analyzed. Narratives which the respondents will write at the end of the survey will be recorded down verbatim, and then will be analyzed using content analysis. “Content analysis takes texts and analyses, reduces and interrogates them into summary form through the use of both pre-existing categories and emergent themes in order to generate or test a theory”, according to Cohen at al. (2007, p.476). Content analysis analyzes big chunks of texts and reduces them to fewer understandable chunks based upon specific coding techniques. Moreover, NVivo7 is the software that will be used to analyze the qualitative responses, and it will be used in this research to analyze the narratives and responses after they will be read and reread multiple times. Data reduction will be accomplished by writing in the margins, making footnotes, and counting the frequency of analogous annotations and comments. An expert will be consulted to independently evaluate the responses and the narratives, to get an exact idea that the responses fit the criteria of substance abuse and teenage violence. A thematic content analysis will be, then, conducted; comparisons will be made; patterns will be noted; and, details will be discussed. After this, the data will be coded based upon the themes and patterns that will be found after the analysis of the responses. Data saturation will be kept track of. The analysis portion of the research will approximately take two weeks. Expectations I predict that the results will be quite helpful in obtaining an exact idea about how substance abuse is an important environmental factor leading to adverse problems in teenagers, of which teenage violence is one that is becoming problematic not only for the offenders but also for others around them. I predict that the results will be astonishing because I am sure that substance abuse leads to teenage violence. If the results of the research come out as expected, then this research will be a great help in creating awareness among parents and teenagers regarding the adverse effects of substance abuse. Limitations The limitations with this experiment may include a small sample size and the age range. If this research is to be conducted on a large scale, then the sample would include around 200 participants belonging to both young and older teenagers, to find out what effect substance abuse has on behavioral patterns. Also, a specific high school will be included in the research, and so, getting permission from school authorities to conduct this research with their students may take some time. Moreover, this research will only include teen students; whereas, substance abuse should be studied with teenagers of all kinds- students or non-studying teens, rich or poor, free or jailed. Implications for Further Research It is recommended that in future research, a larger population and sample should be selected with a wider age range to get a more specific result. Also, further research should not be based upon an educational institute; rather, it should include teenagers from all socio-economic classes and educational backgrounds. References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Vital signs: Binge drinking prevalence, frequency, and intensity among adults- United States, 2010. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), 61(1), 14-19. Cohen, L., Manion, L., Morrison, K., & Morrison, K.R.B. (2007). Research Methods in Education. New York, NY: Routledge. Delaney-Black, V., Chiodo, L.M., Hannigan, J.H., Greenwald, M.K. (2011). Prenatal and postnatal cocaine exposure predicts teen cocaine use. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 33(1), 110-119. Ellickson, P., Saner, H., & McGuigan, K.A. (1997). Profiles of violent youth: Substance use and other concurrent problems. American Journal of Public Health, 87(6), 985-991. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.87.6.985 Haines, C. (2012). A few too many. Retrieved September 13, 2013, from http://www.wsiltv.com/news/to-your-health/?feed=bim&id=138237434 Harford, T.C., Yi, H., & Freeman, R.C. (2012). Associations with drinking and other drug use Among high school students in a U.S. general population survey. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 21(4), 349-366. doi:10.1080/1067828X.2012.710028 O’Meara, C., Witherspoon, R., Hapangama, N., & Hyam, D.M. (2012). Alcohol and interpersonal violence may increase the severity of facial fracture. British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 50(1), 36-40. Rothman, E.nF., Reyes, L. M., Johnson, R.nM., & LaValley, M. (2012). Does the alcohol make them do it? Dating violence perpetration and drinking among youth. Epidemiol Rev, 34(1), 103-119. doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxr027 Temple, J.R., & Freeman, D.H. (2010). Dating violence and substance use among ethnically diverse adolescents. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(4), 701-718. doi: 10.1177/0886260510365858. Temple, J.R., Shorey, R.C., Fite, P., Stuart, G.L., & Donna Le, V. (2013). Substance use as a longitudinal predictor of the perpetration of teen dating violence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(4), 596-606. Read More