Essay on mini-survey on alcohol and drugs

Purpose

The purpose of this survey was to find out the prevalence of the use of alcohol and other drugs by students within the campus and outside the campus. This information was intended to be used by the relevant parties involved with health and drug control on coming up with ways to sensitize the students on the harmful effects of drug abuse and excessive drinking. In this survey we hoped to find out how many students in campus use alcohol and how many use other hard drugs like marijuana and cocaine.

Sample Description

The sample for this survey was mainly made up of students within the campus and those living in the environs or surrounding areas outside of campus. The age group for our sample varied from the age of 13 to 17; these were from freshmen to final year students.

Methods

The survey involved collecting the needed information by way of questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaires were issued out to individuals who found it uncomfortable to talk about their social life in terms of their drinking. They were also issued to individuals who did not have time to go through the interview due to academic activities and obligations. The interviews were carried out randomly without selecting the age and/or gender of the sample. The survey was done in the day time, from 10 am in the morning to 4 pm in the afternoon. The survey was done when the students were out of class, mainly in the playfield, cafeteria and on the way home.

Findings

According to the findings:
– 80% of the students who are actively drinking and engaging in drug abuse are from the age of 18 to 22. This is mostly freshmen and second years.
– 55% of this group do it for fun, while 40% do it because of peer pressure.
– The remaining 20% of the sample who were final years, say they drink as a form of socializing and relaxing
– 70% of those who drink also use other drugs. 60% use marijuana, 30% use ecstasy and 10% use or have tried cocaine.
– 72% of those who drink and abuse other drugs want to quit. 60% of those who only drink want to quit.
– Most of the students believe dinking is a bad thing but they have to do it to keep a cool image

Reflection on Results

The survey was very educational showing the kind of lifestyle that most students live in campus. I learnt that peer pressure affects many individuals even in campus and that most people drink or use drugs because they have been made to believe that it is “ cool”. This is the biggest thing that causes students in high school to drink. The results showed that parents and teachers need to come up with ways to inform the students on the bad effects of drinking and find a way to get them involved in activities that keep them away from drinking, like sports.
If given the opportunity to conduct this type of survey again, I would use a different questionnaire to get more information, it would have more questions with multiple choices to make it easier for all students. I not use interviews because many people do not feel comfortable discussing about their personal life to another student, they believe you would tell on them. I would give out the questionnaires that have no names and tell them to drop it in a box placed around the school compound.

References

Blumenthal, D. S., & DiClemente, R. J. (2003). Community-based health research: Issues and methods. New York: Springer Pub.
Cropper, S. (2007). Community health and wellbeing: Action research on health inequalities. Bristol: Policy Press.