Expanding upon the topic
2
Research Analysis
Tamera Young
Department of psychology, Southern New Hampshire University
SCS-502-Q2378: Foundations of Research Methods
Professor Susan Depue
January 17, 2021
Research Analysis
The article “Association Between Childhood Residential Mobility and Non Medical Use of Prescription Drugs Among American Youth” provides more information on the previous articles addressed in milestone one and two on the topic association between childhood residential mobility and non-medical prescription drugs (NMUPD) among American youth. Meagan et al. 2015 suggested that movement among youths aged between 12-17 years resulted in more abuse of drugs than those who did not move (Meagan et al., 2015). This implies that the youths mostly suffer from fatigue and headaches, making them go for the NMUPD to tranquillize such conditions they experience as they are engaged in the mobility.
Therefore, this article hypothesizes that if the youths' movement from one place to ajother is limited, the chances are that abuse of NMUPD will be reduced. This is because the research indicates that when the youth are too much involved in mobility from one place to another, they develop such traits that lead to the abuse. The independent variable within this research is residential mobility, while the dependent variable for the study is non-medical prescription drugs (Meagan et al., 2015).
Meagan et al. 2015 selected 68,487 as respondents for the research out of which 18,614, were between the ages of 12–17 years. They were supposed to complete youth experiences questionnaire. The questionnaires' topics ranged from legal and illegal activities and behaviors; participant social and physical settings; availability of substances and substance deterrence programs; and perceived norms, personal attitudes, and risk related to drug use (Meagan et
2015). Mobility from one residence to the other was asked by gaging the number of times a person had moved from one place to another. This made it possible to categorize them as
residentially immobile, low mobility, or mobile according to the responses they shared. They were then asked if they had used pain relievers, tranquillizers, stimulants, and sedatives, non-medically. They were only to report it if they used it without prescription.
The article indicated that movement was prevalent to people who moved from one place to another compared to those who were not active in mobility. Reliability tests suggest that when one records more movement, they are more likely to use NMUPD than individuals who recorded limited or no activity within the past five years. For a primary tool, the information gathered is reliable.
The research may be reliable to some extent but may fail to meet validity tests. Some people have moved from one place to another but may not have used the NMUPD and those who are stationary but have used the drugs. The choice of subjects for the interview may also be questionable. The researchers may have selected anybody they found for the research which may not give accurate information on mobility and NMUPD. Future research on the same topic should be based on data from travel companies. This should be compared to others who have not travelled within the specified time. Ailments suffered by respondents that may make them use the drugs should also be included within the questions to arrive at reliability and validity. This research's credibility may be slim since some people may claim to have moved, but they never
did so while others may not be able to recall the number of times they have moved within the last five years.
From the research, most youths who reported using drugs without doctors prescriptions were women within the ages of 12–17. Most of them were dependent on other people for financial gain. It was clear that youths who used the NMUPD mostly lacked parental monitoring. The adolescents also reported fair or poor health, engaged in consciousness seeking behaviours. They also said low school connection, on average they performed poorly in school, exhibited criminal behaviour, used other drugs, perceived that their peers or parents could not disapprove the use of drugs, had friends are drug addicts, had access to medication, and did not realize that use of drugs was against school norms; compared to adolescents who did not use NMUPD (Meagan et al., 2015).
For future research on the same topic, a sample of youths from all races, gender, and ethnicity should be considered. The study should then view status within the society to see if the availability of funds with ease among the rich can contribute to drugs compared to the poor or middle-class families. Future research on the topic should address why they use drugs while they have been on transit. It is essential to determine why someone would use the NMUPD more than the person who did not travel.
References
Conn, B. M., & Marks, A. K. (2014). Ethnic/Racial Differences in Peer and Parent Influence on Adolescent Prescription Drug Misuse. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 35(4), 257-265.
Kelly, B. C., Rendina, H. J., Vuolo, M., Wells, B. E., & Parsons, J. T. (2015). Influences of motivational contexts on prescription drug misuse and related drug problems. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 48(1), 49-55.
Martins, S. S., Kim, J. H., Chen, L., Levin, D., Keyes, K. M., Cerdá, M., & Storr, C. L. (2014). Nonmedical prescription drug use among US young adults by educational attainment. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 50(5), 713-724.
Meagan, S. E., Gurka, K. K., & Lander, L. R. (2015). Association between childhood residential mobility and non-medical use of prescription drugs among American youth. Maternal and child health journal, 19(12), 2646-2653.
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