Youth and Drugs - Research Proposal Example

YOUTH AND DRUGS By Location Contents Introduction 3 Background and literature review 3 Theory 4 Methods 4 Timetable 8 Dissemination 8 Conclusion 8 Bibliography 10 Youth and drugs Introduction Of all the age groups the youth are always the most affected with drugs and drug abuse. This might be because this is the age group where people tend to think less about the consequences of the things that they do. This is not just a problem in one part of the world but a global one.As a result of this fact there are a number of questions that people have always asked regarding youth and their use of drugs.Forinstance, there are questions regarding the possible causes, the things that they can do in order to avoid drug abuse, how family members can be of health, how education institution can influence this trend, and what addicted persons can do to get help, which gender is the most vulnerable, and many other questions. In order to get an answer to these questions it is necessary for a research to be carried out. This is a research proposal for a research on youth and drugs. Background and literature review Youth and drugs is not a new thing, as it has been mentioned and studied a number of times before by other researchers. However, it should be noted that there have always been a difference in findings in these studies. Furthermore, most of these researches focus on specific aspects or questions relating to youth and drugs. This makes it easier to carry out a research on this topic because of the fact that there are relevant findings that had already been availed in the reports written after the various studies and researches were carried out by different people with different perspectives and missions. It should be noted that drug abuse among the youth is a social, health, and economic concern. This is because it can hinder the performance of the youth who form a significant part of the total population of human beings globally. This implies that it is a problem that in many occasions has been undermined, but should be looked into with the seriousness that it deserves. Michelle Miller‐Day looked at the role of parenting strategies on late adolescent and drug abuse. She asserts that the strategies used in talking to the youth about drugs sometimes are effective because parents do not want to be straight about the issue. Vardakou, Pistos, and Spiliopoulou assert that the use of the internet by the youth can be said to one of the factors that lead to the high rates of drug abuse among the youth. Duff (2003) carried out a research on the contribution of the youth culture to the rate of drug abuse in Australia. They found out that the youth culture was a significant contributor to drug abuse among the youth in Australia. Wilens and Biederman (2006) assert that drug abuse and addiction among the youth is a contributor to the high rate in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder that is being observed to be common among the youth all over the world. Wilens and Biederman give a detailed analysis on the relationship between drug abuse and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, especially among the youth Theory There are a number of theories that can be used in discussion of drug abuse among the youth. One of such theories is the gateway theory. According to the gateway theory states that the use of less strong drugs can lead to the association with peers who use or supply even stronger ones leading to an individual using stronger drug. Some of the drugs that are considered to be gateway drugs include cannabis and tobacco. This is the reason why many countries have not legalized the use and sale of marijuana because of the belief that its use will lead to the use and addiction to even stronger drugs among the youth. Methods This research will take an ontological approach. As opposed to the epistemological approach which relies on individuals’ perception of reality, this paper will focus on the fact that has been proved with regard to the causes, nature, and control of drug abuse among. Given that most literature material takes the epistemological approach, this research will focus on those literature materials that have facts and data that can be proved to be actually. This will help in making the research more accurate because the researchers will not have to rely on speculations or views that are based on individual opinions (Kasi 2009, p. 132). This research will focus on data and fact that have been universally proved to be true with regard to the abuse of drugs among the youth. This research is also going to use qualitative research methods. The choice of this type of research methods is dictated by the kind of research that is being taken in this case. For instance, this research will be aimed at seeking reasons and motivations of drug abuse among the youth. This research will also be aiming at providing an insight into the setting of drug abuse among the youth thus generating hypothesis and ideas for later researches (Blaxter, Hughes & Tight 2010, p. 164). This research will also be seeking to reveal prevalent trends in opinions and thoughts. Another thing that should be taken into consideration is the fact that this research will explore and investigate the nature of drug abuse among the youth, and the result would not be generalized because of the nature of the research and the subjects and the various variances in human beings. The data collection methods that will be used herein will be either unstructured or semi-structured such as individual interviews. The tools that are most likely to be the most appropriate for this case include: surveys; literature review; interviews; questionnaires; direct observation; and focus groups. Surveys will be important in collecting data on the various evident trends in the abuse of drugs among the youth. This method will prove to be important in determining facts such as the rate of drug abuse; gender differences; measures put in place to curb the increase in drug abuse among the youth. The literature review will prove to be important in collecting data from findings from previous studies and researches regarding drug abuse among the youth (Booth, Colomb & Williams 2008, p. 187). Through interviews, data can be collected from professionals from various fields that relate to the issue at hand. For example, interviewing of social workers and counsellors in learning institution can avail relevant information with regard to drug abuse among the youth. Direct observation will be important in observing the behaviour of the youth in the society especially those who abuse drugs. Questioners can be important in collecting information on the strategies that have been used by parents, teachers, counsellors, and the general public to stop drug abuse among the youth. Questionnaires can also help to get data from the affected population in what led to the situation they are in and what they think can be done to stop them from abusing drugs. The participants in this research will include sociologists, youth counsellors, youth group, parents, and social workers. Sociologists can be found by going to the university’s sociology department and requesting to interview a number of professors regarding the topic being handled in this case. Youth counsellors are the ones who have the experience of counselling, youth who happen to be fighting drug addiction. They might be helpful in availing information about the possible causes and some of the things that should be done in order to help youth go through this stage of their lives without falling victims to drug abuse (Merriam & Merriam 2009, p. 111). Youth groups will help in getting information from the affected population instead of completely relying on information from other parties. Parents are the people who see people as they grow up and go through the youth stage. In order to keep their children from abusing drugs, parents usually use different strategies. To get to know the details and effectiveness of these strategies, giving parents questionnaires and interviewing them will prove to be important in this research. The finding of all the participants in this process will highly depend on the reliability of the people. There are a number of youth groups that can be involved in the focus groups. Even within the university there are groups of youth that are brought together by a number of factors, including the fight against drugs and drug abuse within the university. Such groups can be very important in collecting data on what the youth have done to make sure that drug abuse amongst them is minimized. The number of parents to be interviewed should be around five, with another 20 filling questionnaires. The number of parents interviewed will have to be less because of time factors. However, it should be noted that when selecting the parent to be interviewed, they must be parents to an individual that has either been directly or indirectly affected by drug abuse among the youth. The social workers to be used in this case should be those that work with the youth, especially the youth who happen to have been affected by drug abuse. For a researcher to get such individuals they will have to go get them from their offices. After the collection of data through the tools discussed herein, it will be important for the data to be analysed so that conclusive data can be deduced. One of the techniques that will probably be of high importance in this case is examination of relationships and trends. After data are collected, the similarities, differences, and implications will be important in making a conclusion. Another technique that will be highly important in the analysis phase of the research process is reflexivity. This will be important in determining the relationship between the causes and effects of drug abuse among the youth. Reflexivity also helps in knowing how both cause and effect of drug abuse among the youth can be of influence to each other. After the analysis the findings will be presented in the form of a report with graphs and tables to represent the analysis that will be made of the data that will be mined from the process. The report should be inclusive of every activity that took place during the research process. Every activity should be accompanied by an outcome and an explanation of the outcome. The report should also give a conclusion of the state of drug abuse among the youth and recommendations on things that should be done so that the rate at which member of this group abuse drugs and other substances. Timetable Time Activity Day 1 Topic section Day 2-4 Literature review Day 5-6 Interviews Day 7-9 Survey Day 10 Questionnaireissuing Day 11 Focus group Day 12 Direct observation Day 13-14 Data analysis Data 15 Development of report Dissemination The findings from this research will be disseminated to all the relevant stakeholders, including: parents, youth groups, the university’s counselling department, administrators who directly interact with the youth, social workers working with the youth, and sociologist. After the findings of the research are analysed and written in form of a report, copies will be made and sent to all the stakeholders that have been mentioned herein. Conclusion Given the purpose of this research, the activities and procedures that have been discussed herein will be beneficial in making sure that this research serves its purpose. Given the fact that the research will be aimed at finding the causes, effects, and control of drug abuse among the youth, the suggested tools will be effective in collecting all the data that will be effective in the development of a report on the topic. The proposal also gives the analysis methods that will be used to deduce meaningful information from the data that will be collected from the whole process. The fact that the proposal presents a research timetable is good because every activity and procedure of the research process will be allocated its time, enabling the researcher to finish the research and present the report in good time. Bibliography Blaxter, L, Hughes, C & Tight, M 2010, How to research, Open University Press, Maidenhead, England. Booth, W, Colomb, GG & Williams, JM 2008, The Craft of Research, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Duff, C 2003, “Drugs and youth cultures: is Australia experiencing the ‘normalization’of adolescent drug use?” Journal of youth studies, 6(4), 433-447. Kasi, PM 2009, Research: what, why and how? : a treatise from researchers to researchers, AuthorHouse, Bloomington, IN. Merriam, SB & Merriam, SB 2009, Qualitative research: a guide to design and implementation, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Miller‐Day, M 2008, “Talking to youth about drugs: What do late adolescents say about parental strategies?” Family Relations, 57(1), 1-12. Vardakou, I, Pistos, C & Spiliopoulou, C 2011, “Drugs for youth via Internet and the example of mephedrone” Toxicology letters, 201(3), 191-195. Wilens, TE & Biederman, J. 2006, “Alcohol, drugs, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a model for the study of addictions in youth” Journal of Psychopharmacology, 20(4), 580-588. Read More