Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts - Essay Example

Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts Findings Drug consumption is an important element of the youth culture in many areas of Europe in general and London in particular. Analysis of the interviews suggests that drug use is common among people that come from a distorted family system. None of the three interviewees was living with both of his/her biological parents when he/she started taking drugs, rather the interviewee was living on his/her own in each of the three cases at the commencement of drug use. Teenage is reportedly the most common age when children start getting on drugs. Mostly it’s friends that motivate the youngsters to start consuming drugs. Consuming drug is considered a sign of being bold and big. Many people including youngsters that are on drugs themselves don’t see it as an allowable practice for their children. Life in foster care makes children desperate, causing many to indulge in drug use. They start from cannabis. Themes Dissatisfaction with Place One of the things that the interviewees shared was their dissatisfaction with the place they had spent most of their childhood in. ‘I don’t like it in Radcliffe. I think it’s just, you know, a Staffordshire thing as well. It’s just boring, there’s nothing for youths to do, you know.’ (Male interviewee R) Talking about the condition of youth in his home-country, Male interviewee T said: ‘They are bored they have nothing to do, it will take them nowhere, from there you don’t even know what you will do in life.’ (Male interviewee T) Abuse at Home Analysis of the interviews suggests that children that are abused by their parent (step-parent or foster-parent) develop a huge tendency of turning to drugs. The abuse may not necessarily be made by the parent to the child to turn him/her on drugs. Even one parent abusing another inculcates motivation in the child to leave and seek refuge in drugs. ‘It started off with one called Sid and he was with my Mum for a few years. And he used to knock my Mum about, beat her up and that, she did have a couple of boyfriends that I didn’t mind so much; she’s got one now, he’s like a bit strict, so always tried to boss me about, didn’t really like it.’ (Male interviewee R) ‘…after I went to foster parents me and my sister abused in care so we went to live with my aunt again, and my aunt went ill in hospital and then I went to live with my god parents and then my god parents started hitting me I went back to my aunt again…’ (Female interviewee T) Street-Life Street-life often marks the beginning of drug use. Interviewees talked about their connection with streets in the discussion. ‘When, like, I’m on the streets and that in London, all the homeless people and all the people that are on the streets, they’re all, they’re a group together.’ (Male interviewee R) ‘…most of the time we ended up living on the streets.’ (Female interviewee T) Source of Motivation Friends are most commonly the source of motivation and inspiration for the youngsters to get on drugs. They may be just friends, boyfriends or girlfriends. ‘Friends, virtually all my life I haven’t had many friends that are my own age. I’ve always had older mates and that you know so, suppose it’s being with older mates all the time and that, it’s probably what’s got me into cannabis.’ (Male interviewee R) When asked how she got on drugs, Female interviewee T replied, ‘My boyfriend.’ (Female interviewee T) The First Drug Cannabis is mostly the first drug that is consumed and may lead to more hazardous drugs. ‘[My girlfriend] started off on cannabis but now she’s, well, she used to do crack, after a bit.’ (Male interviewee R). The other two interviewees also confirmed cannabis as their first drug. Attainment of Drugs Teenagers adopt indecent means to acquire drugs. Teenagers who are in the nascent stage of becoming a drug addict ask others for free drugs for the least, if not beg. ‘I know this sounds stupid, but I used to do a bit of begging down there on the streets.’ (Male interviewee R) Male interviewee T added: I go and sit next to them and after some boy passed me the spliff so I took.’ (Male interviewee T) Girls commonly buy the expensive drugs with money earned from prostitution. Talking about his girlfriend, Male interviewee R says: ‘Every single night she was selling herself to get crack and she’d earn about, she’d only get about 60 quid a night and she’d spend it all on crack and she’d leave, no, she’d probably get about 80 quid and, like, leave 20 quid for the electric and everything, food and that.’ (Male interviewee R) Female interviewee T also said it quoting her boyfriend: ‘…it’s more harder for women to get of it than men, cause women they go out selling theirselves to buy it, like prostitutes they go and sell their bodies then they can get the money for it.’ (Female interviewee T) The Limit Youngsters that commonly consume cannabis establish it as the limit and cultivate hatred against other kinds of drugs including crack, cocaine, heroin and alcohol, considering them more hazardous for health. ‘I won’t stand being near it down London and someone’s, you know, if I see someone next to me is sitting down and getting a needle or something out, I say ‘Look, not near me’. (Male interviewee T) ‘Yeah, cocaine I think, cocaine they used to put in their cigarette, but I tell them I never take this in my life because I don’t even want to know what it is like.’ (Male interviewee T) ‘I’ve never liked alcohol ever.’ (Female interviewee T) How to Come Out of It? Living in a society where drug use is not uncommon, will power has been recognized by the interviewees as the most fundamental factor one needs to stay away from drugs. ‘I think it’s will power thing – not giving up on yourself. You’ve got to stay strong, I suppose.’ (Male interviewee R) Female interviewee T also took a firm decision and followed it: ‘I wouldn’t go that far, I wouldn’t lower myself that far. I just ended up stopping smoking.’ (Female interviewee T) Conclusion The interviews provided insight into various aspects of the drug use by youngsters. Findings of this research suggest that most people start getting on drugs in teenage. Friends are the source of inspiration. Distorted family system, foster care and physical and verbal abuse at home are the potential indoor factors that cause youngsters to start consuming drugs. Outdoor factors include social networking, immunity created by massive availability and consumption of drugs in the society. Drug use often starts with cannabis and aggravates to the level of consumption of crack, cocaine and heroin. Youngsters particularly girls adopt such unethical and shocking means of acquiring drugs as prostitution. Drugs make people feel good and their negative effects are either underestimated or overlooked. Will power is required to quite drugs. Reflexivity The analytic process enabled me to understand the general means of children’s transition from non-drug users to drug users, the age at which this most commonly happens, the various indoor and outdoor factors that enhance youngsters’ tendency to start consuming drugs, the positive and negative effects of drug consumption on their personal and social life, and their intentions of increasing or limiting the drug use. One of the most important inferences that I draw from these interviews is that although many teenagers are potentially addicted to drugs like cannabis, they visualize the drugs as pastime and don’t think they are addicted to them in any way. This may be the reason why many of them continue consuming drugs despite the knowledge of their negative effects on health. Keeping a light attitude, most teenagers overlook the severity of negative impacts of drugs on health. The End Read More