Drug Use among High School Subjects - Essay Example

Study on Drug Use among High School s Study On Drug Use Among High School s The methods to use among high school dropouts will include the following: availability sampling, purposive sampling and snowball sampling. The need for using these models is based on the inability to get a list or group of the desired subjects. (a). Availability Sampling: this study mode will rely on the available subjects which are not identified as either school drop outs or not, but which will be identified before they are chosen as the subjects for the study. The study will take place at the Veema area, near the Veema School. This is a good place to start from, because the school is surrounded by densely located residential centers where subjects must be found. The study will focus on bars as the centers to pick the subjects. For the study, three bars have been identified. At the first bar, the researcher sits down, asks a provocative question so as to watch who are the possible subjects at the bar (Dryfoos, 1991). Question: Who hates high school life? After the question, at least a response will be raised and then the respondents will be questioned personally whether they dropped out of school. The choice of the three bars is also based on the information that high school dropouts frequent them. For the study, five subjects are needed from each bar. At the first bar, after questioning those who responded to the first question, it is likely to get a 2/4 school dropout number as the timing will be 11 am – 12 Noon, when non-working, non-school going, dropouts frequent the bar. After identifying the five subjects, they will be assured of their confidentiality, then the survey forms will be administered so the subjects will fill it out (Dryfoos, 1991). The questions will include: How much do you drink and smoke? What were the causes for starting to drink and when? Why did you drop out of school – were you suspended or expelled for drug use, and had you started drinking before dropping out? What effect did the company you kept after dropping out of school play? Did you have trouble during early years of school? Did you perform well at school, and did you have problems at home during your schooling time? The process will be repeated for the two other bars. NB: Subjects will be offered a beer, so they can offer the information freely. (b). Purposive sampling: will involve the study of the entire groups at the three bars during our timing of study: 11 am -12 noon. From interviewing all the members at the bars during that time, the school dropouts will be identified and the information from them compiled. The questions to be asked during the interview include: Are you a high school dropout? If yes, the interview will continue, if NO, they will be relieved of the duty. If YES, the following questions will follow: Was your dropping out, as a result of drinking and smoking? Were you expelled or suspended due to drinking and smoking? Had you started drinking and smoking before dropping out? Was the company you kept after dropping out, a cause for the drug use? Did you perform well at school and did you have problems with school authorities? Can you cite your family as a cause for your drug use? NB: Subjects will be offered a beer, so they can offer the information freely (Dryfoos, 1991). (c). Snowball sampling: The researcher will first carry out an inquiry among the customers at one of the bars asking to be shown a high school dropout who was present. After getting the first subject, the researcher will interview them asking the questions in (b) above, and then will request to be shown another dropout. The interview of the second will be done, then request that they show another dropout, and then the process will continue, until from each bar, 5 subjects will be covered. At the second bar, the same process will be followed, and then the third, where the last five subjects will be interviewed (Dryfoos, 1991). NB: Subjects will be offered a beer, so they can offer the information freely. 2. For the study, the potential subjects at a high school setting will be presented with the equal opportunity and independence to the opportunity of becoming subjects for the study. (a) Systematic sampling: the study will be administered to grade 9 and 11 students. These grades have a student number of 40 and 50 students respectively. From both classes 5 subjects will be required, therefore, for grade 9 (out of the 40 students), 5 subjects will be picked. This will be done by getting the number 1 out of 40/5. From every 8 students, number one will be picked for the study. The subjects will be picked from a count of the sitting posts at the class. For every count of 8, number one will be the subject. After the 5 are chosen, they will be interviewed. For grade 11, the number will be picked from choosing 1 of every 50/5 (1 of every 10 students). The questions include: Do you drink and smoke and why do you do it, if you do? When did you start drinking and/ or smoking, and why or who influenced you into starting? Does the company you keep push you out or into drinking and smoking? Did you have problems with authorities about rules in your early school years? Does your school performance make you happy? Is your family a cause for your drinking and smoking (Dryfoos, 1991)? (b). Cluster sampling: for the study, the two classes have two divisions. In each division, there are five rows. The researcher will pick one division (stream) from each class, and then choose a subject from each row from the given stream. From the exercise, 5 subjects will be picked. The 5 random subjects from the two classes (grade 9 and 11) will be taken through an interview session where they will respond to the questions in (a) above (Dryfoos, 1991). (c). The population will be divided into different strata. For the 9th grade, the 40 students will be divided into 5 equal strata of 8 students, on the basis of their registration numbers starting from first to last. From the 5 equal strata, the number one from each will be chosen; which will give 5 subjects. From the 11 grade class: the 50 students will be divided into 5 strata of 10 students, on the basis of their registration numbers starting from first to last. From the 5 groups, 1 subject will be picked to represent the group. That will give us 5 subjects. The 5 subjects from each class will be interviewed using the questions in (a) above (Dryfoos, 1991). References Dryfoos, J. D. (1991). Adolescents at risk. New York: Oxford University Press Read More