Article Analysis: Delinquency And Substance Abuse Among Youth

Research Article Analysis
Danielle Cunningham
CJA/334
April 27, 2014
Dustin Johnson
Research Article Analysis
The purpose of the research study is to see if juveniles being employed affects delinquency and substance abuse amongst youth. The problem is that there seems to be a direct correlation between substance abuse and the intensity of work schedules while teens are attending school. The questions that are to be researched are why are youth who spend long hours at work more likely to be delinquent? What is the connection between those teens who work long hours and those who do not and how does it influence delinquency and substance abuse?
The design of the study “includes the who, what, when, where, why, and how of an investigation”
This study shows inductive logic in the results because the results determined that deviance was associated with those juveniles who do work, and not those who preferred to work. “Delinquency, marijuana use, and heavy drinking were significantly higher for adolescents who spent long hours on the job compared with adolescents who were jobless but preferred moderate hours of work” (Staff, Osgood, & Schulenberg, 2010, page 17). Deductive logic gives absolute proof of something. It begins with a premise that is assumed to be true, and the researcher infers what would be true if the premise is true. They are sometimes known as “if…then” statements. Deductive logic is shown in the results because the researchers assume that if a student works while in school, then they are more likely to be delinquent and abuse alcohol and
The population is all students in the eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades. The sampling method is to use students who remain in school throughout the survey period, and to exclude those who drop out or graduate.
The findings of the study were those who were unemployed, but wished they could work were the teens with the highest rates of delinquency and substance abuse. The researchers believe this is caused by a desire for the teens to feel like they are adults. They also believe this is because the students who wanted to work had loose ties between family and school.
The author’s conclusions are that working does not necessarily contribute to higher delinquency and substance abuse rates. Neither does not working. Those who desire to work, but are unable to do so because they are too young, have no experience, cannot drive, or lack the necessary skills to perform a job properly are the juveniles who are the most likely to engage in delinquent acts, alcohol abuse, and subject