Analysis of the Article, Increased Risk of Alcohol and Drug Use among Children from deployed Military Families by Acion et al
Abstract
Many studies that have been conducted reveal that the Children whose their parents are military officers tend to experience a myriad of challenges when their parents are away on duty. Acion et al, (2013), are among the scholars that have explored the association between these children and consumption of alcohol and other drugs. This paper aims at analyzing the research that was conducted by Acion et al, on the relationship between consumption of alcohol and other drugs and the children whose their parents are military officers and who are n duty. The paper aims at focusing the purpose of the study, the methodology that was used and the major limitations of the study. It also focus on the areas that the researchers could have improved on.
Introduction
The article, Increased Risk of Alcohol and Drug Use among Children from deployed Military Families was written by Laura Acion et al. and it was published in 2013. The article focuses on examining the relationship between the deployment of parents who are military officers and consumption of alcohol as well as other drugs by their children. The study used the observational and cross-sectional research methodologies and it compared substance abuse among children whose parents are military and those whose their parents are civilians. The study established that the children whose their parents have been deployed for military reasons are more likely to consume alcohol and other drugs as compared to those whose their parents are civilians. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Acion et al. article to establish how well the research was carried out and possible implication of the study.
Acion et al. conducted the current study in order to establish if there is an association between the consumption of alcohol and other drugs by the children whose their parents have been deployed in other areas for military operations. This followed after the other researchers revealed that children whose their parents have been deployed for military operations in areas that are away from home normally experiences problems that can influence them to engage in substance abuse such as binge drinking as compared to those whose their parents are civilians (Acion et al., 1419). Different studies that have been conducted to investigate the families of the deployed military individuals reveal that the children at adolescent stage are more inclined to experience behavioral difficulties, higher level of stress as well as more emotional problems as compared to those whose their parents are civilians.
The researchers decides to employ the cross-sectional and observational methodologies to establish if children whose their parents have been deployed for military operations are more inclined engage in substance abuse practices (Acion et al., 1424). The researchers drew a sample of 3 groups that comprised of students who were in sixth, eighth and eleventh grades: children whose their parents were civilians; those whose their parents were military officers and had recently returned and those whose parents were military officers and in military operations during the time of study. The children were then asked some questions such as if they have ever consumed alcohol, engage in binge drinking, marijuana or illegal drug for the past 30 days or if they had misused prescription drugs. In addition, the researchers also considered the race, sex, ethnic groups, grade as well as living arrangements (those that living with parents, grandparents or alone) as the potential confounders (Acion et al., 1419).
The results of the study revealed that the consumption of the substances was higher among the children whose their parents had been deployed as compared to those whose their parents were civilians. Children of deployed group reported using marijuana as well as prescription drugs by more than two times for the past 30 days (Acion et al., 1420). Furthermore, the study also established that the gender and ethnicity do not have impact on abuse of substances among children whose their children have been deployed. However, grades and family arrangements (those that living with parents, grandparents or alone) did.
Despite the fact that that the study generated highly reliable results, it was limited in some areas. The researchers should have investigated the period which the parents were deployed or the number of deployment which could have likely to impact the children. In this case, the audience is left to ponder or to estimate the period which parents are deployed which is likely to influence the children to engage in substance abuse (Acion et al., 1423). The researchers could have therefore investigated the possible period likely to affect the children to an extent of making them to start abusing substances; is it a week, months or some years. The study therefore failed to address this critical point.
The study has wider application both in personal life as well as professionally. The study has investigated the possibility of children of different groups such as grades, ethnic groups and race and whose their parents have been deployed in military operations could engage in substance abuse. As a result, it has enlightened the parents and responsible institutions such as schools the arrangements that should be made as well care that should be offered to these children to save them from a menace of substance abuse. Personally, it would help one to know the possible implication deployment would have on children and this will enable a person to make personal arrangements to ensure the children are well taken care of while away. Professionally, it would help in formulation of policies that will ensure the children of military officers are given moral and psychological support necessary by people who are entrusted to take care of their lives such as teachers.
In conclusion, Acion et al., conducted a good research that examined the relationship between the parents deployment for military reasons and substance abuse among their children. The findings of the study are highly reliable as the researchers used the right research methodology as well as statistical models to analyze the results. However, the findings of the study could have been more reliable if the researchers could have included the period the parents are deployed which is likely to impact the children such that they engage in substance abuse.
Work Cited
Acion, Laura., Ramirez, Marizen R. , Jorge, Ricardo E. & Arnt, Stephen. Increased Risk of Alcohol and Drug Use among Children from deployed Military Families. 2013. Society for the Study of Addiction,108, 1418–1425.
Townend, J. (2012). Practical Statistics for Environmental and Biological Scientists. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
