Quantitative research article analysis
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Quantitative research article analysis
Introduction
The author focused on drug abuse among juveniles and young children in Thailand. The alarming increase in the number of children and youngsters abusing drugs brought researchers to study this area. The following are the questions that guide the research on this area:
- At what age do children start using drugs?
- What influences drug abuse among young children?
- What behavior do children abusing drugs depict?
The study generated an opportunity to analyze the behaviors of the young children exposed to abuse and what drove them into the act. The study outlines that juveniles are judges of their guilty behavior, which raises the question of how they were exposed to the drugs in the first place. Therefore, to answer our questions, the research utilizes several theories: planned behavior theory, moral development theory, and rational choice theory.
Population
The study population in this article is young children and juveniles. The author aims to explore the factors that impact drug abuse-related behaviors of youths and children in the juvenile training schools and observation and protection centers. Although several studies focused on rational aspects, the author’s interest was in analyzing the actual causes of drug use behavior using theories related to human behavior reasoning. The researcher assumed that children’s behavior is sophisticated, thus suggesting using different approaches to draw out constructive conclusions.
The planned behavior theory was expanded from a reasoned action theory based on cognitive-behavior views. Other studies used in the research supported the planned behavior theory’s predictive aspect of drug abuse behavior. The author used the idea of reasoned action to explain crime-related behaviors such as smoking. Concerning the rational choice theory, the study was based on a belief that crime resulted from rational decisional making. Furthermore, the author expected the approach to explore drug use behavior among juveniles concerning outweighing factors. The hypothesis model encompassed variables such as drug use behavior attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms, directly influencing drug use behavior.
Exposure
The study population, the children and juveniles, are exposed to the excessive use of drugs. The study has outlined the exposure environment as places outside the school environment, such as friends’ houses. As outlined in the study, peer pressure was a significant factor that drew younger children and juveniles to drug abuse, mostly outside the school premises. Another factor that exposed the younger children and youths to drug abuse was their influence in selling the drugs. Dealing with drugs could be a leading factor in drug addiction since it is readily available and in large quantities.
Additionally, good pay from drug cartels can quickly draw a young youth to drug-dealing obsession. Nowadays, most families are not united as before. These create an exposing opportunity for children to end up using drugs since there is no one to guide them or keep them busy at home.
Control
The author utilized the use of questionnaires to collect all variables. The use of questionnaires is an excellent example of a quantitative research study. The samples for the research comprised of 739 male juveniles and children from juvenile training schools, observation, and protection centers, and the department of juvenile observation and protection in Thailand. The study exploited a multi-stage random sampling approach to select respondents. The steps used in this approach included; a classification based cluster sampling of the office of national statistics, which was divided into four sections (North, North East, South, Central). The next step included random sampling where samples were deduced based on a variable-item ratio of 1:10 under a 10% estimated standard error.
The questionnaires’ content was divided into various sections regarding the variables. The areas included; a background section was consisting of four items, the drug-related behavior category with thirteen items, and the reasoning factors section with twenty-three questions where ten addressed the moral development theory. The rational pattern section consisted of five things where the questions were designed to analyze the children’s thought patterns in making sound choices.
The data from the questionnaires were first evaluated for efficiency and accuracy. It was then analyzed using an SPSS software program. The software’s statistical analyses included a descriptive statistic that outlined the samples’ background traits, such as percentage, frequency, and standard deviation. Path analysis was also utilized to test the hypothesis.
Outcome
The majority of the participants comprised individuals between 16 to 18 years old (82.3%). The majority of them had received their first prosecution. The study discovered that the children and juveniles’ initial drug experienced occurred between 13 to 15 years of age. Furthermore, widespread drug use among adolescents, as highlighted by the study, was alarming.
It was discovered that most juveniles were involved with amphetamine, mitragyna speciosa, and marijuana regarding the type of drugs used. Further, amphetamine use was linked to the onset of the use of other drugs. The study highlighted that the programs set by the Thailand government to control amphetamine use were ineffective. This promoted the widespread use of the drug among the youth throughout the country.
It was discovered that the juveniles used drugs often with their friends outside school or their neighborhood. The study’s results showed that drug use could transform a juvenile’s life into a vital stage. The study also showed that these youth did not spend enough time with their families and instead congregated to a friend’s or neighbor’s house to use drugs. Moreover, some of the juveniles were involved in drug dealings as well. This implied that it would be difficult to quit drugs as they were readily available for youngsters who sold them. When the Thailand government imitated strict drug suppressions, most drug cartels turned to juveniles to sell their products (Wirojkul, 2017). The study’s results supported the theory of planned behavior, suggesting that perceived behavioral control and the attitude towards behavior could impact behavior by intention. The author stipulated that subjective norms and moral reasoning factors were not consistent with the hypothesis. Furthermore, subjective norms negatively impacted drug abuse behavior in that juveniles with minimal subjective norms had a higher probability of exhibiting drug abuse behavior.
Conclusion
According to Wirojkul (2017), the study results could be utilized to prevent children’s drug use by promoting family members as role models for drug-free upbringing. Children could also be influenced by their family members to join development programs to facilitate drug use problem prevention measures. Concerning moral reasoning, the study stressed that it would directly influence juvenile’s drug use behavior. The study also showed that juvenile drug patterns consisted of outside school friends and home neighbors. Lastly, this study’s results can be used in drug prevention measures by developing programs and activities to keep the children and youth active during and after school sessions.
References
Wirojkul, R. (2017). Drug Use among Juveniles in the Observation, Protection Centers and Training Schools in Thailand: An Analysis of Causal Factors. International Journal Of Criminal Justice Sciences (IJCJS), 168-181. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1034654