Alcohol Abuse among Teenagers - Research Proposal Example

Prof. A.D. PAUL Page Use of Focus Group as an Effective Tool in studying Alcohol Abuse Among Teenagers in Scotland. Over the years, the Social scientists have developed a number of tools in their study of various social phenomena. From the corpus of tools, which to choose for a particular study is in itself a field of scholarly inquiry. The society looks upon the social scientist to diagnose and prescribe remedies for the maladies that jeopardize social well being. Inappropriate tools will yield wrong results and if the findings are wrong, no remedy can be effective. This invests the social scientist with the responsibility to use the right tool to arrive at the right conclusions. This study proposes to present the magnitude of the problem of alcohol abuse among the young. A quick recap of analytical tools available for study is also given. From the empirical data available on the past studies, the enquiry proposes to establish the effectiveness of Focus Group as the best option to study the present crisis of alcohol abuse among the Scottish teens. The extent of Alcohol Abuse Among the Teenagers The Scottish Executive Social Research, commissioned a study on the under-age drinking behavior of young people, and the illegal purchase Page 2 of alcohol in pubs, clubs, supermarkets, shops, and other illegal sources. It was a large-scale, longitudinal study of some 4,300 young people then aged around 15, and attending schools in and around the City of Edinburgh. The study was conducted between August 2001 and February 2002.The findings from the study give a murky and alarming propensity among the teens for alcohol and gross callousness towards statutory regulations regarding the sale of alcohol by the vendors. The main findings from the study are as follows: Just over 51% of young people admitted to drinking alcohol when they were around 13 years old, and this figure rose to almost 84% by the time they reached 15. Almost half (49%) drank at least monthly or more often, with half of these (a quarter of the entire group) drinking at least once a week. Most participants had also felt the adverse effects of drinking alcohol. 49% could not recall some of the things they had done on at least one occasion, and 46% reported getting drunk at least once in the last year. Teens buying alcohol, was also related to involvement in delinquent behavior (Scottish Executive). Page 3 The extent of the problem of alcohol use by this group has created a genuine concern from all sections of Scottish public. The plethora of literature, giving vent to this concern in the media and the vast number of research papers being churned out by the academic community do underline the gravity of the situation. Long Term Implications of Alcohol Abuse Among Teenagers The long-term effects of this menace on Scottish society can be understood by delving deep into the medical implications of this problem. A study, widely considered, the most extensive analysis of the link between age and the onset of drinking disorders was conducted in USA by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The results of this study were published in1998. The findings were based on interviews conducted by the United States Census Bureau in 1992 with more than 42,000 adults. The participants were asked when they began drinking regularly, excluding their first experimental trying of alcohol. The results of the study established the close link between alcoholism and the age of drinking. 40 percent of the participants who began drinking before age 15 developed alcoholism later in life. About 25 percent of respondents who started drinking at age 17 and about 10 percent who began drinking at 21 Page 4 became alcoholics. (Alcoholism Risk Higher for Young Drinkers: Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2004). Research Options Indeed, there is a heightened awareness in all sections of Scottish society about the alcohol abuse in the young, through the laudable work of media, academia and Government. The statistical evidence about the amounts consumed, the styles of drinking, sources of supply, methods of procurement have been unearthed by praiseworthy academic research. However, a deeper examination into the milieu of Scottish teens is warranted to find out the latent forces that facilitate this tendency in the young, employing the most appropriate tools that will yield the accurate information regarding this problem that has far-reaching pernicious effects on life and culture. The appropriate research strategy is needed to arrive at conclusions that throw light on any problem so that a road map can be drawn to carry on an action plan that can mitigate and eventually eradicate social evils to ensure well-being in a society. In choosing the appropriate research strategy for an investigation, it is necessary to Page 5 bear in mind that social research methods are constantly evolving in tandem with development in other fields. The qualitative research method widely used in many fields today grew out of disciplines like literary criticism, psychoanalysis, social sciences etc. What is the appropriate tool to be used in the present problem In-depth Interviews are ideal for a single person or two and for investigating sensitive personal problems. In the present enquiry though personal element is indeed sensitively present, the focus is on the social dimension of alcohol abuse in the young people. Moreover alcohol abuse is a clandestine activity and the respondents are likely to take a guarded rather than a co-operative attitude to the person conducting the interview. Drinking among the young being a group activity, the respondent may shy away from questions because of the tacit agreement in the group to conceal their operations. Since a single investigator conducts the In-depth Interviews, it is easy to manipulate the answers by eliciting the answers from the client to suit the conscious and unconscious prejudices of the investigator. Further, the client interviewed feels that he or she is under a microscope and the tense ambience may not yield a spontaneous response. To authenticate the findings, a sizable cross section of the teens will have Page 6 to be interviewed. This is time-consuming and more investigators may be required. When more investigators are used, there is hardly any chance of arriving at objective conclusions (Bryman A.). Content Analysis is employed by sociologists to investigate the content of various media like books, magazines, newspapers, T V, films etc in order to find out how certain issues are presented. Basically, content analysis is a statistical exercise that requires classifying some aspect or quality of people's behavior and recording the number of times such behavior recurs. This pattern of conduct reveals the social milieu that is portrayed in the media. The main problem with this method is that the conclusions may not be objective. The meaning of a pattern of conduct may have different meaning for different researchers. The analysis of content might tell the numerical aspect of behavior, for example, how many times a pattern of behavior is found or how many times a particular word is used. However it may not tell why such a pattern of behavior appeared or why a particular word is used. In a study related to alcohol abuse there is no point in getting the statistics of content unless it will give some inkling into the Why of things. While statistics might reveal the severity of a problem, it is not a useful tool, unless and until the research takes us closer to a Page 7 workable solution helpful to remedy the malady. The term Content Analysis is a broad category, which includes the analysis of broadcast content and web content. The use of Content Analysis, Broadcast Analysis and Web Analysis is not relevant in this study. The problem under scrutiny comes under the aegis of human communication based on a written or spoken component and the communication corpus is very negligible. When there is no adequate content for inspection and analysis the above-mentioned approaches are not of any practical value (Jones S). At the same time Content Analysis of the new media has revealed how certain notions and behavior are instilled in large section of people through the media. Therefore, the proliferation of media globally and its influence in embedding notions of reality, some times distorted, in the minds of people is of relevance in this study. The findings of the Glasgow University Media Group have revealed the role of media coverage in forming public opinion in the Middle East conflict. They show major differences in the way Israelis and Palestinians are represented in the media. The close political links between the USA and Britain influences the news and consequently the shaping of global opinion on current issues (Bad News From Israel). Similarly the Page 8 marketing communication and its content in the print, broadcast and electronic media if analyzed will lead to some clues regarding some of the hidden persuaders that drag the teens to alcohol. The vigorous marketing communication aimed at wooing the youth has significantly contributed to alcohol abuse. Recent years have seen a growth in the value youth culture attaches to brand labels and symbols and a tendency. The alcohol industry's response to these trends has been to design alcoholic beverages that appeal to young people, using well-informed and precisely targeted marketing strategies (Jackson et al 2000). However, this widely accepted assumption on the influence of the media on alcohol abuse among the Scottish teens needs to be verified. Suitability of the Focus Group in the Present Study Focus groups are widely used as an effective tool for eliciting communication for the purpose of analyzing social phenomenon. The main purpose is to get information in a group environment. It is a cost effective method and the results can be quickly analyzed. It is one of the best research tools available for obtaining data from children, especially, about aspects of peer culture. The young are likely to be unwilling to articulate matters of sensitive nature in the presence of Page 9 outsiders. At the same time, Focus groups are an effective method of evaluating sensitive subjects. Focus groups have participatory dimension by making the group members or associates. This gives greater validity to the conclusions of the study and will be readily accepted (Ritchie, J. and Lewis, J.). A focus group is a collection of individuals who have been brought together to discuss a particular topic, issue or concern. A moderator supplies the framework and procedure for the meeting, introducing open-ended questions to facilitate discussion. The method also called the synergy relies upon the interaction between the individuals during the discussion. The data collected by the Focus groups is qualitative in nature. They furnish elaborate insights into peoples' notions and experiences, instead of statistics. There fore the nature of the material obtained from focus groups is very different in nature from that is obtained by quantitative methods. The method of Focus Group in comparison to surveys is open ended and allow more flexibility in the way questions are asked. The ensuing discussion might take unexpected turns and give insights into the problem in a totally original way. The participative aspect of the group gives also scope for encouragement and stimulation. Page 10 Efficacy of Focus Group Research for the Validation of Assumptions and Hypothesis Related to Alcohol Abuse in Teens In Scotland. It is a normal procedure in inquiry to start with assumptions and hypothesis, which social scientists validate by further experiment, observation and inference. Focus Group is a time proven tool in wetting conclusively assumptions and hypothesis. "We habitually act upon hypothesis, but not precisely as we act upon certainties; for when we act upon hypothesis we keep our eyes open for fresh evidence"(Russell). It is the duty of the Social Scientist to arrive at truth unequivocally. By employing the Focus Group Research method it is possible to arrive at truth so that society can chalk out effective strategies to mitigate and eventually root out the pernicious effects of alcohol in our youth. Infact a number of assumptions and hypothesis have been put forward claiming to be the main reason for alcohol abuse among the teens. If these could be validated by the application of Focus Group Research, the Scottish Society could be firmly anchored on the real truth about alcohol abuse among the teens, and start working on strategies that help wipe out the menace from Scotland. ========================== Works Cited Alcoholism Risk Higher for Young Drinkers. 2004, Microsoft Encarta Reference Library. Russel B.1965, A History of Western Philosophy, Simon and Schuster, New York. Bryan. 2004,Social Research Methods, Oxford, Oxford University Press, London. Jackson MC, Hastings GB, Wheeler C, Eadie DR and MacKintosh AM (2000), Marketing of alcohol to young people: Implications for industry regulation and research policy. Addiction, 95(Supplement 4). Jones, S. 1999, Doing Internet Research: Critical Issues and Methods for the Net, sage, London . Philo Greg, Mike Berry. 2004, Bad News From Israel, Pluto Press, London. Ritchie Jane, Jane Lewis. 2003, Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers, Sage, London. Scottish Executive ,2006, available at:http://www.Scotland.gov.uk/ publications/note Read More