Parents' Perceptions of Their Adolescents' Attitudes Towards Substance Use

Chapter one of this research study introduced and provided an overview of parents’ perception of adolescents’ attitudes toward substance use by varying ethnic backgrounds. This included discussing various aspects of parents’ perception which included demographics, substance use, self-esteem, drug modeling and positive peer drug modeling and the identification for the specific framing, design and method of conducting this research study. The problem statement, background, purpose, nature of the study, hypothesis and research questions all provided important context for the purpose of the research. Some of the benefits as well as challenges experienced by parents/guardians regarding adolescent’s attitudes toward substance use were also discussed. Chapter two focused on the literature review and material of the research inquiry. The chapter gave a brief review of parent’s perception of adolescent’s substance use. According to The Project Cork (nod.), parents and teens often see the same things differently. Parents were more likely to attribute drug use to factor with negative connotation (such as boredom, rebellion, loneliness or social pressure). Their children were more likely to mention things with more positive connotation (such as curiosity, fun, insight or experience). Research suggests that many parents may underestimate their importance as parent in terms of influence on their adolescents’ attitude of substance use. Parents/guardian attitude an acceptance of adolescent’s substance use may range from denial and lack of knowledge and awareness of teen’s substance use (Graves, 2005). This was a study of the parent’s perception of their adolescent’s attitude toward substance use by varying ethnic backgrounds. In chapter one, the researcher introduced problems associated with alcohol and substance use among adolescent including ethnic differences. Chapter two presented a review of literature on the subject of parent’s perception of their adolescent’s attitude toward substance by ethnic differences. The chapter also gave a brief review of adolescent’s attitude toward substance use, adolescent’s attitude toward substance use among minority groups, parent’s perception of adolescent’s attitude toward substance use and parent’s perception of substance use by ethnic backgrounds. This investigation into these areas was conducted through internet sources, peer review journals, articles, other academic materials and professional materials. Chapter three described the research methodology, design, and procedures data processing and analysis utilized for the study. The chapter also described the methodology, hypotheses, and research questions. Also, the specific and necessary steps to implement a research study of this nature were outlined in this chapter. Chapter four presented the results of the current study based on the analysis of the raw data that was obtained from the survey presented to parents and guardian. The reporting of the results and key findings of the research described the major themes of the research. A descriptive analysis was also conducted for all possible similarities comparisons and contrast of independent and dependent variables. Finally, this chapter presented a discussion of the study purposes and justification, the four research questions that emerged from the data analysis, study limitations, implications for practice and recommendation for future research. Chapter five provided the discussions for the conclusion and recommendation for the research study. This chapter described the findings and conclusions from the study. Also, included in this chapter were the significance of the study recommendation and direction for future research.