RISK FOR EARLY ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE: AN ARTICLE CRITIQUE
Nature of the Journal and Author Credibility
This article appeared in a recognized scientific, scholarly journal in the field of social scienceùchild and adolescent psychology (Flannery, Vazsonyi, Torquati, & Fridrich, 1994, pp. 195-213). The journal has an editorial review board.
The lead author is an Assistant professor of Family Studies at the University of Arizona who holds a PhD. in clinical child psychology from the Ohio State University. The secondary authors all are doctoral students in the Division of Family Studies, University of Arizona. The project was funded by a research grant from the National Institutes of Health to the lead author. Neither the statistical background of the authors nor any indication of the use of a statistician in the project were revealed in the article.
The study reported in the article examined interpersonal and intrapersonal risk for substance abuse in a sample of Caucasian and Hispanic early adolescents (sixth and seventh grade student). The authors attributed the importance of the study by the fact that, in the face of increased awareness of the physical and social consequences of drug use, the behavior continues to occur with epidemic proportion among adolescents. Thus, the authors reasoned, the identification of risk factors for future substance use may offer insights as to how to best combat the problem.
Random procedures were applied in the selection of a sample of sixth and seventh grade students from a single large urban school district. A passive consent procedure was employed for participation in the study. Less that five-percent of the students selected did not participate because of parental concerns. Substance use behaviors were identified through the administration of a survey questionnaire designed especially for use in this study. Peer pressure was measured through an administration of the Peer ...