Substance Abuse by Youth Relationship between Family Functioning and Self-Esteem - Report Example

ABSTRACT This is a research report that examines, analyzes and determines the extent of association between two major influencing variables on an extensively prevalent and increasing problem of substance abuse among adolescents between the age of 12 and 18. The two variables are Family functioning (consisting of family structures, family relations, economic status of the family, educational background and the support and control functions within a family) and an individual intrapersonal characteristic like self-esteem. The research has been carried out in nine district schools of Alberta with a random sample chosen out of a population of stratified junior and senior students and their parents and administered with the help of a pre-tested questionnaire. A bivariate correlation analysis has been used as the statistical tool to interpret the data obtained in the research. The results clearly answers the hypothesis stated and validates that a significant negative relation exists between family function and self-esteem. Therefore, we concluded that ‘A child with a poor family function does indeed have a low self esteem’. In addition, it can also be stated that ‘self esteem increases as poor family function decreases’. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………… 4 METHOD………………………………………………………………………………. 8 Research Design …………………………………………………………….…. 8 Sampling Strategy………………………………………………………………. 8 Discussion of Study of Population Sample……………………………………… 8 Data Collection Procedures……….……………………………………………. 9 Statistical Procedures Used……………………………………………………… 9 FINDINGS AND RESULTS……………………………………………………………. 10 Assumption Testing……………………………………………………………… 10 Correlation Analysis……………………………………………………………. 14 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION….………….…………........................………... 15 TABLE OF FIGURES AND TABLES Output 1………………………………………………………………………………. 10 Output 2 and 3…………………………………………………………………………. 11 Output 4……………………………………………………………………………….. 12 Output 5 and 6…………………………………………………………………………. 13 Output 7………………………………………………………………………………… 14 INTRODUCTION Adolescents and youth of the present generation have started to indulge in luxuries of abusive and risk-prone substances such as alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and drugs. The use of such substances, although despised by the society, is not sufficiently controlled or restricted. Recent times have seen a spurt in the variety of these substances available, so has the number of young users increased (Podhisita, Xenos, Juntarodjana, & Varangrat, 2001). Several researches have identified that numerous factors dictate the initial start of such habits and their continuance (Graham, 1996). These factors vary from individual, familial to societal factors. A review of various literatures has added substantial insights to this report. We have attempted a study of a combination of familial and individual factors, which govern such harmful behavior among adolescents. Family is considered one of the major influential bodies (Hoffmann, 1993) for a growing adult because it is a primary social unit within which an individual is nurtured. Family is the first socially interactive group especially in the initial childhood and adolescent years. Family is supposed to shield its young members from external harmful influences and therefore, any weak link in the relationship of a growing individual and his family can significantly impact the behavior that individuals adopts later in life (Wells & Rankin, 1991). Many researches have suggested that youth problem behavior can be conveniently assessed using family structure or living arrangement (Thomson, Hanson, and McLanahan, 1994) and family relationship variables as antecedents. The researches, although not always consistent indicate a better protective environment and hence better insulation from risk behaviors in an intact family with both parents (Hoffmann and Johnson, 1998). Conversely, families with only one parent (mother only or father only) are more risk prone to these unhealthy habits (Thomas, Farrell, and Barnes, 1996). Equally negative are the attitudes of children belonging to stepparent families (Barnes, 1990). This relationship between family structure and use of abusive substance (Flewelling and Bauman, 1990) have been confirmed by several research findings and an alteration in this variable does significantly translate into negative or positive outcome behaviors among children (Murray, 2001). Similarly, family relations variables indicated by the effect of parents’ divorce and remarriage on adolescents have a noteworthy effect on development of abusive usage (Hoffmann and Johnson, 1998). Another key aspect is the support (in the form of affection, care and attachment) and control (in terms of supervision and discipline) exercised by family on adolescents which govern these behaviors (Barnes and Farrell 1992). Moreover, the socio-economic status and income source of a family along with the educational backgrounds of the parents (Forste and Heaton 1988) play a decisive role in behavior formation among young adults. Hence, we can safely deduce that family background and nurturing is a very crucial factor, which directly or indirectly impacts and shapes youth behavior. This study therefore intends to include it extensively in the report. Collecting and interpreting the different variables which constitute this factor has been attempted. Illustrated already that family does indeed influence individual behaviors significantly to a large extent, it cannot be fully and entirely accounted for the risk behaviors developed by the youth. The individual level attributes are also responsible (Podhisita, Xenos, Juntarodjana, & Varangrat, 2001). This paper also attempts to study the various individual factors (also known as intrapersonal factors), characteristics, traits and attitudes, which constitute the individual level attributes. One such dominant attribute is ‘self esteem’ (McMahon & Estes, 1997) of an individual which greatly determines whether he/she would resort to the use of abusive substances when in anxiety, tension or under stress. An increasingly prevalent trend is that an individual with high and moderate self esteem usually refrains from smoking, drinking or drugs and vice versa. A person with good self esteem usually has higher resistance and resilience in situations of pressure (both mental and physical) and setbacks (McMahon & Estes, 1997). This resilience prevents a gradual development of frustration which would otherwise take place. Frustration with various entities such as job, relationships, etc. often leads to easy outlets in the form of drugs, alcohol, smoking and other abuses. Nevertheless, the lack or abundance of self esteem and several other individual factors are also a derivation of family function as identified by various studies which thereby accord more importance to family factors over individual characteristics for development of abusive substance use habits (Stice, 1998). This close association between family functioning and its effect on self esteem was the motivation behind a study of these two with respect to each other. Although several past studies have identified significant association of family factors on youth substance abuse and that of individual level self esteem factors on youth substance abuse, this research report aims to: ‘Study the inter relationship between these two major factors (family function and self esteem) impacting the development of substance abuse behavior among adolescents and teenagers’. As highlighted by several research studies and the review of those elaborated above, both family level variables (such as family structures, family relations, family support and control, educational background of parents and the economic status of the family) as well as individual level attributed (self esteem, psychological adjustment, mental temperament) determine the risk attitudes of a child. Thus, the single major objective of this paper is: ‘To determine whether self esteem (taken as a representative of the individual level factors) is significantly related to family function’. In this regard, the thesis statement of hypothesis question can be stated as below: ‘Does a child with poor family function experience a low level of self esteem?’ METHOD The research was undertaken in the form of a survey of both urban as well as nonurban students in the ages of 12 and 18 in nine school districts of Alberta, who would be representative of the youth to be studied for influence of family functioning and self esteem on substance abuse behaviors with regard to this research paper. Research Design The study was carried out by distributing survey questionnaires to the school junior and senior students as well as to the parents of these students (after their consent). The questionnaire responses were anonymous in nature and could not be traced back to individual respondents. Sampling Strategy A random sampling technique was employed for selecting junior and senior students in various district schools. However, the random sampling was done from a group of samples stratified by age from 12 through 18 of students in the district schools identified as the desired population for the survey. This stratification ensured a consistent representation of all age groups and was done on classroom basis wherever individual sampling was not feasible. Discussion of Study of Population/Sample As mentioned already, students between the age of 12 and 18 who would better represent adolescents were shortlisted for the purpose of this research. A list of nine district schools was finalized keeping in mind the need for an adequate mix of both urban and nonurban samples. However, it was clearly communicated to students that the participation was voluntary and the questions they would strongly avoid to answer was also their discretion. Parents of all the students who participated in this survey were contacted for participation and special attention was paid to omission of questions sensitive to particular region or school for instance the convent schools. Data Collection Procedures This survey was carried out in early 1993 and the data obtained from this survey has been used in this paper for analysis keeping this paper’s objective and hypothesis in perspective. For data collection purposes, a list of final students to be participating in the adolescent survey was prepared in collaboration with the respective schools. Questionnaires were administered and monitored by expert and trained research team. The data collected was in 3 sets of Student response data set, parent response data set and a matched data set. Matched data set was prepared by comparing the responses of students to that of parents on the basis of school attended, gender and birth date of the student and the two sets (student and parent) were combined into one. The instrument used for survey was a questionnaire designed for students and parents respectively consisting of sections on family background, demographics as well as individual behavior with a special reference to parents’ attitudes and habits in the parents’ questionnaire. These initial questions were reviewed by experts in the field and then pretested with a small group of students and their parents, based on which some minor modifications were made. Statistical Procedures Used In accordance with the nature of hypothesis to be tested, a bivariate correlation analysis was deemed appropriate. The relationship between the family function and self esteem would be established and interpreted from the statistical significance of the results demonstrated by the Pearson correlation coefficient. FINDINGS AND RESULTS Assumption Testing While attempting a bivariate correlation analysis, certain underlying assumptions need to be tested. These assumption testing outputs have been illustrated and explained below: 1. Related Pairs – The data collected as response on both the variables (family functioning and self esteem) were obtained from the every respondent. So, this assumption is not violated. 2. Scale of measurement – The scale used for both the variables was continuous (interval) scaled and hence this assumption is also not violated. 3. Normality testing – The outputs for both family functioning and self esteem indicate that the data is normal. We know that for a normal distribution the value of skewness and kurtosis are zero. However, we need to check if score deviates significantly from zero. As a rule of thumb, |s| >1 & |k| >3 indicates serious non-normality. Here, both skew and kurtosis values are well within range for family function and self esteem (Output 1 and 2 respectively) and therefore, the sample can be assumed normal. Output 1 Output 2 The bell shape of the histograms (Output 3) and the stem leaf plot (Output 4) also confirm that the distributions are normal and the almost middle aligned line of the quartile plot (Output 5) further corroborates normality. Hence, the assumption of normality is not violated. Output 3 Self-esteem - Rosenberg Stem-and-Leaf Plot Frequency Stem & Leaf 47.00 Extremes (==44) Stem width: 10 Each leaf: 7 case(s) Output 4 Output 5 4. Linearity – A linear relation can be assumed from the graph (Output 4) thus, indicating linearity. 5. Homoscedasticity – The scores also cluster around the regression line (Output 6) showing that the variability in scores for one variable is roughly the same at all values of the other variable. Thus assuming non violation of this assumption also. Output 6 Correlation Analysis Output 7 is obtained after carrying out a simple bivariate correlation analysis, which is also known as zero order correlation (available through Analyze and Correlate menus) of the two variables family functioning and self esteem using SPSS. The coefficient obtained ranges from -1 to +1 with the sign indicating the direction of the relation as positive (directly proportional) or negative (inversely proportional), and the value indicating the strength of the relationship. A correlation analysis inspects the relationship between the two variables in a linear fashion and is thus suitable to be used in this case. The test results show a significant result with Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, r = -0.452 (p = 0.000 < 0.01) for the two continuous variables tested here. The introductory section of this report consists of a directional hypothesis stated; and therefore a one tailed probability test was more appropriate rather than a two tailed. Output 7 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The raw data analysis and the results obtained after performing statistical analyses on the data obtained regarding substance abuse indicative a number of trends and relations. First of all, an examination of descriptive statistics point out that the families in Alberta have a moderate amount of family functioning. The mean = 25.73 with minimum and maximum values ranging between 12 and 48. A higher value on this scale obviously indicates a poor family functioning. On the other hand, a high score for value on scale of self esteem indicates a medium (tending towards higher) self esteem. Thus, a mean of 29.82 with 12 and 40 being the minimum and maximum values respectively indicates that on an average, the students of Alberta are high on self esteem. A rough deduction from the mean values point out an inverse relation between family functioning and self esteem because a background of moderate mean family functioning has lead to a generally high mean self esteem. Further, the results of correlation confirm the above deduction. We see that the results of correlation are significant in the negative direction. This indicates that Self Esteem among adolescents increase as Poor family functioning decreases in the family structure and other family level variables of these adolescents. Our initial hypothesis question was: ‘Does a child with poor family function experience a low level of self esteem?’ The above hypothesis has been proved true by the results of our statistical analysis. Thus, a child with poor family function does indeed have a lower self esteem and vice versa. The implications of the above results are manifold. The results authenticate the close and significant association of family values, structures, relations etc. on the child in the growing years which can be a crucial factor in developing and strengthening or inhibiting and curbing ‘self esteem’ among young adults. As already established by various literature reviews and past study analysis, a lack of self esteem can enhance the risk of a child turning to smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, taking illicit drugs and other abusive substances. Therefore, it can be argued that family is the starting point of the chain which determines the delinquent behaviors among adolescents through a moderating variable known as self esteem. The study carried out with a final 1,942 respondents constitutes around 72.5% of the sample initially identified so as to have an exhaustive result. This sample size is good enough to be a representative of the adolescent population and hence is valid. The questions assessing the family function and self esteem variables were developed by experts using summary scales of FAD (Family assessment device) and the like which have a pretty high internal consistency and thus the results obtained are reliable too. However, this research has been limited to examining the relationship between family and individual level variable (self esteem). This can be extended to a combined effect of these two on the actual use of restricted substances. Also, a further extension of social factors like school, peers etc. can be brought in apart from family. Similarly, various other individual level factors such as temperament, psychology, self control etc. can be studied apart self esteem. Statistical analysis and bivariate as well as multivate relationship assessments among various permutations and combinations of these variables can bring about an entirely new and wide ranging results which would drive this study to the next level. This research also carries certain other limitations such as: Response Bias – The respondents chosen through a thorough sampling ensured a fair representation of the entire population. But, the responses received of the students and parents after their consent was approximately 72% and there is a slight possibility that the sample finally participating in the survey after the exclusion of non willing candidates, has a biased response and that the response omitted in due course would have provided different results. Nonetheless, the chances or probability of such an occurrence is very rare. Exclusion of School Drop outs – Another limitation of this study is the omission of school dropouts who are equally a part of the society and in fact would have more prominent cases of substance abuse. Research design – The research carried out only once indicate the influence of several psychological factors such as mood and positive or negative state of mind which would lead to a slightly deviated result when administered to the same person at some other point in time. However, this limitation is common to all research types with similar designs and have been attempted to eliminate using consistent and reliable scales of measure. In conclusion, the focus of this research has been to assess the relationship between two critical variables (family functioning and individual self esteem) which have been determining the use of abusive and risky substances among youth in general. The findings of this research henceforth validate our hypothesis that ‘A child with poor family functioning will indeed have a lower self esteem’. This report has tried to capture an honest and valid representation of youth, the prevalent use of abusive substances among them and the dominant societal (family) and individual (self esteem) attributes governing such behavior. REFERENCES Barnes, G. M. (1990). Impact of the Family in Adolescent Drinking Patterns. In R. L. Collins, K. E. Leonard, and J. S. Searles (eds.) Alcohol and the Family: Research and Clinical Perspectives. New York: The Guilford Press. Barnes, G. M. and M. P. Farrell. (1992). Parental Support and Control as Predictors of Adolescent Drinking, Delinquency, and Related Problem Behaviors. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54(Nov), pp. 763–776. Flewelling, R. L. and K. E. Bauman. (1990). Family Structure as Predictor of Initial Substance Use and Sexual Intercourse in Early Adolescence. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52(Feb), pp. 171–181. Forste, R. T. and T. B. Heaton. (1988). Initiation of sexual activity among female adolescents. Youth and Society, 19, pp. 250–268. Graham, N. (1996). The influence of Predictors on Adolescent Drug Use: An Examination of Individual Effects. Youth & Society, 28(2), pp. 215–235. Hoffmann, J. P. (1993). Exploring the direct and indirect family effects on adolescent drug use. Journal of Drug Issues, 23(3), pp. 535–557. Hoffmann, J. P. and R. A. Johnson. (1998). A National Portrait of Family Structure and Adolescent Drug Use. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60(Aug), pp. 633–645. McMahon, R. J., Estes, A. M. (1997). Conduct problems. In E. J. Mash & L. G. Terdal (Eds), Assessment of childhood disorders (3rd ed.).. New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 130-193. Murray, N. (2001). The Effects of Family Structure on Adolescent Transition Behaviors in Santiago, Chile: A Life Course Perspective. (Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Johns Hopkins University) Podhisita, C., Xenos, P., Juntarodjana, J., & Varangrat, A. (2001, October). Drinking, Smoking and Drug Use Among Thai Youth: Effects of family and individual factors. East-West center working papers , 108 (6), pp. 1-3. Stice, E. (1998). Adolescent Temperament Moderates the Relation of Parenting to Antisocial Behavior and Substance Use. Journal of Adolescent Research, 13 (1), pp. 5–31. Thomas, G., M. P. Farrell, and G. Barnes. (1996). The effects of single-mother families and nonresident fathers on delinquency and substance use in Black and White adolescents. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58(Nov), pp. 884–894. Thomson, E., T. L. Hanson, and S. S. McLanahan. (1994). Family Structure and child well-being Economic resources vs. parental behaviors. Social Forces, 73(1), pp. 221–242. Wells, L. E. and J. H. Rankin. (1991). Families and Delinquency: A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Broken Homes. Social Problems, 38(1), pp. 71–93. Read More

An increasingly prevalent trend is that an individual with high and moderate self esteem usually refrains from smoking, drinking or drugs and vice versa. A person with good self esteem usually has higher resistance and resilience in situations of pressure (both mental and physical) and setbacks (McMahon & Estes, 1997). This resilience prevents a gradual development of frustration which would otherwise take place. Frustration with various entities such as job, relationships, etc. often leads to easy outlets in the form of drugs, alcohol, smoking and other abuses.

Nevertheless, the lack or abundance of self esteem and several other individual factors are also a derivation of family function as identified by various studies which thereby accord more importance to family factors over individual characteristics for development of abusive substance use habits (Stice, 1998). This close association between family functioning and its effect on self esteem was the motivation behind a study of these two with respect to each other. Although several past studies have identified significant association of family factors on youth substance abuse and that of individual level self esteem factors on youth substance abuse, this research report aims to: ‘Study the inter relationship between these two major factors (family function and self esteem) impacting the development of substance abuse behavior among adolescents and teenagers’.

As highlighted by several research studies and the review of those elaborated above, both family level variables (such as family structures, family relations, family support and control, educational background of parents and the economic status of the family) as well as individual level attributed (self esteem, psychological adjustment, mental temperament) determine the risk attitudes of a child. Thus, the single major objective of this paper is: ‘To determine whether self esteem (taken as a representative of the individual level factors) is significantly related to family function’.

In this regard, the thesis statement of hypothesis question can be stated as below: ‘Does a child with poor family function experience a low level of self esteem?’ METHOD The research was undertaken in the form of a survey of both urban as well as nonurban students in the ages of 12 and 18 in nine school districts of Alberta, who would be representative of the youth to be studied for influence of family functioning and self esteem on substance abuse behaviors with regard to this research paper.

Research Design The study was carried out by distributing survey questionnaires to the school junior and senior students as well as to the parents of these students (after their consent). The questionnaire responses were anonymous in nature and could not be traced back to individual respondents. Sampling Strategy A random sampling technique was employed for selecting junior and senior students in various district schools. However, the random sampling was done from a group of samples stratified by age from 12 through 18 of students in the district schools identified as the desired population for the survey.

This stratification ensured a consistent representation of all age groups and was done on classroom basis wherever individual sampling was not feasible. Discussion of Study of Population/Sample As mentioned already, students between the age of 12 and 18 who would better represent adolescents were shortlisted for the purpose of this research. A list of nine district schools was finalized keeping in mind the need for an adequate mix of both urban and nonurban samples. However, it was clearly communicated to students that the participation was voluntary and the questions they would strongly avoid to answer was also their discretion.

Parents of all the students who participated in this survey were contacted for participation and special attention was paid to omission of questions sensitive to particular region or school for instance the convent schools.

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