The Psychological Effects of Adolescent Alcohol Abuse

This research proposal aims to investigate the psychological effects of alcohol abuse among mid-adolescents, focusing on the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The study will employ a quantitative approach using questionnaires to measure psychosocial changes, individual aims, and theories about alcohol consumption. The researcher plans to recruit 350 university students as participants, with ethical considerations ensuring confidentiality and anonymity. However, the proposal lacks clarity in its research question, methodology, and measures, requiring further development and refinement.

Research topic: The psychological effects of alcohol abuse of mid adolescents?
1. The theoretical approach being adopted, relating to existing literature in the target
area
2. Existing research in this field – both historic and contemporary
3. Gaps in current knowledge and how this proposal will contribute to knowledge
4. The research method to be employed and rationale for its use 6. The specific
participant requirement and how they will be recruited
5. Ethical concerns specific to the actual proposal (not general ethics; these can be
positive aspects of conducting this research)
6. Challenges and considerations of the proposed methodology (rigour)
7. How your personal assumptions and experience may influence the research
process (reflexivity)
Section Proposal Details Comment (feedback )
Title Why adolescent use of alcohol? This is not grammatically
correct. It’s also not specific
enough, in the sense that
you’re surely interested in
the psychology of
adolescent alcohol abuse?
What stage of adolescence
are you interested in? Early,
late? What transition is
involved?
Introduction Alcohol neglect is obstruction troubling
in our community Every day individuals
are harmed and killed in alcohol-
associated with accident because of an
effect on individually and individual while
an effect of these incidences.
The aim of the study: what suggest
adolescence to drink alcohol and how
this will affect their lives?
Now this is too much - either
you’re interested in why
adolescents abuse alcohol
or on the psychological
effects of alcohol abuse.
There is medical information
available on alcohol
consumption in childhood
and adolescence, so you
could look at the
psychological effect in terms
of the transition to adulthood

– so how it relates to themes
like independence,
responsibility, mature and
committed relationships.
You will need to conduct a
full review of literature in this
area and look for gaps in
knowledge. A proposal must
be linked to past research, to
something that has been
investigated but where there
are gaps in knowledge. To
do this you’ll need to
consider what exactly you’re
investigating.
Methodology This research is Quantitative/experiment
which will be using questionnaires as it
6 point scale rating from 1 to 6,
Donovan, Costa and Jessor (1985).
Not experimental unless you
are manipulating variables.
Look at your PSY3330
lecture notes and your
PSY3012 lecture notes on
writing research proposals…
What is this questionnaire
measuring? You need to be
a lot more detailed. There is
also NO WAY that one
questionnaire could answer
your research question
(highlighted above). What
have other researchers used
to look at outcomes of
alcohol consumption or
addiction?
Data Gathering There will be 350 participants from they
will be university.
Why from university? If
you’re looking for late
adolescent/early adult
transition, how will university
students provide you with a
representative sample? You
were at the lecture last
week, but you don’t seem to
have taken what I was
saying on board. I’m glad
you’ve got started with an
idea, but you’ll need to really
start reading about the topic
now.
Ethical consideration This research will be confidential, But you’re not conducting a

participants will be anonyms and there
will be positive changes to the
participants such as they might stop
drinking alcohol after they realise how
harmful it to their health.
medical trial relating to the
health effects of alcohol.
You haven’t thought this
through yet. Your target
MUST be psychological
knowledge.
Reflexivity In this research there might problems
appear such as some participants might
not turn up do cooperate with this
research and the researcher need to be
well enough educated with enough
information if the participant want quite
drinking alcohol .
This makes no sense at all –
I guess it was a last minute
job but I can’t respond to this
I’m afraid.
Rigour There will be two part questionnaires
part one will be given when they don’t
have any work to such and second one
will be giving when they have
assessment due . The extent to which
psychosocial change, individual aims,
and theories about alcohol calculated
planning to drinking, or actual drinking.
What two questionnaires?
Dreadful typos.
What are you actually
measuring? I know you’ve
tried to say something here
but until you know what
you’re measuring and have
a proper set of measures
you can’t write about rigour.