Critique of a Qualitative Study on Adolescents' Perspectives on Addiction

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Introduction
This paper is a critique of the qualitative study conducted by Parvizy, Nikbahkt, Pournaghash
Tehrani, & Shahrokhi (2005) on the perspectives of adolescents regarding addiction. The
period of adolescence is one of the most critical developmental stages in which one is likely
to be involved in unbecoming behaviours which can have a negative impact on their general
wellbeing. Over 91% of adults who smoke cigarettes began the habit while they were
adolescents, and over 50% of them develop the habit of routine smoking before they are
eighteen years old (Ozturk, Kahraman, & Bektas, 2013). The increasing rate of smoking and
drug abuse among adolescents makes it a critical issue worthy of consideration. It is,
therefore, significant that the health needs and problems of the adolescents are clearly
understood in order to provide effective strategies that will help improve the health of
adolescents. This paper aims to critique the qualitative study by Parvizy et al. (2005) using
the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (2018).
Critique
The validity of the Results
The study had a clear statement of the aims of the research. The objective of the study was to
assess the perspectives of adolescents on drug addiction. The study was important because
statistics show that over 91% of adults are smokers who began smoking at the adolescent's
stage and over 50% of them became routine smokers by age 18 (Wills, Knight, Williams,
Pagano, & Sargent, 2015). Moreover, the study was needful and focused on Iran because it is
one of the countries with the largest populations of adolescents (15 million young people),
thus making it also relevant (Momtazi & Rawson, 2010). The study will be a basis for further
research on drug addiction in Iran.

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A qualitative methodology was the most appropriate for the study because the researchers
sought to interpret each experience of the respondents. For instance, the study used in-depth,
open semi-structured interviews with each transcribed interview being analysed
independently to generate themes and sub-themes. Qualitative research is the most
appropriate methodology for addressing the perspectives of adolescents on drug addiction
because it is effective in assessing a new phenomenon and for revealing the experiences of
individuals and their perspectives pertaining a given matter (Anderson, 2010). A similar
study on the return to drug use among former prisoners also used a qualitative approach with
the use of open semi-structured interviews (Binswanger et al., 2012).
The research design was appropriate since the authors have justified its use. The authors
assert that a qualitative study is suitable for uncovering the nature of the experiences of
people alongside their perspectives. It is also appropriate when studying a subject matter with
little known research (Momtazi & Rawson, 2010). Binswanger et al. (2012) also used a
similar research design because of little known research. The strategy of recruitment was
inappropriate to the study objective because there was no in-depth explanation of how the
participants were recruited. According to Newington and Metcalfe (2014), a detailed
recruitment strategy is significant in research because it ensures that only the participants
who meet the inclusion criteria are included in the analysis, and this improved the credibility
of the research. Bourne, Reid, Hickson, Torres-Rueda, and Weatherburn (2015) carried out a
comprehensive recruitment strategy to ascertain the illicit use of drugs in sex, and thus had
very high credibility.
Data collection was carried out in a manner that addressed the research problem. The study
used in-depth, open semi-structured interviews to collect data. The study outlines a clear
process of how data was collected but with no justification whatsoever for choosing the