Drugs

Drugs

Introduction

The alcohol and recreational drug use is still a significant and very current problem nowadays, not only within criminology field, but also concerning lives of younger and younger people. The subject of the study is important and worthwhile analysing with regards to a number of consequences for students, deriving from such alcohol and drug use. Moreover, the research can be considered very relevant in terms of its feasible connection to criminology field that has been studied by the researcher for the last 3 years. Finally, the findings will not only inform the researcher's knowledge about substance use among students, but also might be helpful to the management of university in terms of determining whether present alcohol and drug use prevention practices/techniques addressing this issue are of any value(Christensen, 1997).

The statistics related to alcohol use on college campuses are cause for concern. As a result of heavy drinking, university students are suffering from alcohol-related health problems, academic difficulties, tendency towards risky behaviours, and troubles with interpersonal relationships. Environmental and social factors play enormous significant role in the decisions college student make regarding drinking. Several methods for reducing heavy drinking on college campuses have been implemented such as alcohol policies, mandatory classes on Fridays, prohibiting beer kegs, and the implementation of employee education at drinking establishments to recognize when a person has had too much to drink (Barnard, 2003).

Data Collection Methods

Primary technique for collecting quantitative data is a self-developed questionnaire, containing mainly closed, pre-coded questions regarding student alcohol and drug use and student perceptions/attitudes to it amongst other students/university peers.

Measurement instruments and methods (source, reliability, validity)

For this study, a questionnaire was used as a measurement instrument, however, the researcher bears in mind that surveys tend to be weak on validity (hard to grasp people's real opinions/feelings in terms of such dichotomies as `agree/disagree` or `like/dislike`, which could be regarded as only indicators of what respondents have in mind) and strong on reliability (as survey research present all participants with a standardized stimulus, i.e. careful wording, format, content, etc. therefore, goes a long way towards eliminating unreliability in the researcher's observations).

Statistical Findings

A major finding of the study is that college students were motivated by social reasons rather than personal reasons to drink alcoholic beverages and resort to drug usage. All three groups indicate a preference for social reasons. The sample size in the present study is 100 which are higher compared to Burns' ...