Sociology Assignment: Review of Public Health Research Articles

This sociology assignment critically analyzes two public health journal articles. The first article, by Lam et al. (2014), investigates the impact of alcohol and drug use among school leavers, examining hypotheses, independent and dependent variables, and the use of stratified random sampling. The study explores the demographic characteristics of participants, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics such as logistic regression. The second article, by Wong et al. (2013), examines the rising prevalence of diabetes mellitus in a Chinese population using a population-based household survey. The assignment details the study's objectives, hypotheses, sampling methods, and demographic data. It also discusses the use of binary logistic regression to analyze factors associated with diabetes. Both assignments provide insights into research methodologies, statistical concepts, and the interpretation of research findings within the field of public health.

Running Head: SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY
Name of the Student
Name of the University

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This assignment critically reviews to measure articles while answering a set and a series
of questions. The majority of public health as well as the journals of wider health science
illustrate forms of statistics. The ability was understanding and extracting the meanings from the
journal articles as well as capability towards critical evaluation of the statistics that are being
reported in research papers are the basic skills within the system of public health. The analysis
will discuss the knowledge of sampling methods, researches and other statistical concepts
included in the two articles. Proper interpretation of the outputs of the result together with
thorough analysis of the research elements that includes sampling as well as the limitation will
also be described assignment.
Lam, T., Liang, W., Chikritzhs, T., & Allsop, S. (2014). Alcohol and other drug use at
school leavers' celebrations. Journal of Public Health, 36(3), 408-416.
“Alcohol and other drug use at school leavers celebration” by Lam et al. (2014), discuss the
influence and impact of drug consumption. The context of the research study revolves around the
significant portion of an adolescent who attends events and often engages in substantial alcohol
and consumption of drug at the end of celebration of their schooling life. Alcohol uses and
consumption among the adolescent population in countries of USA UK as well as in Australia is
a range of episode consumption that is commonly prevalent to intoxication point. This frequent
way of drinking among youth population is affected majorly by memory loss, violence, as well
as hangovers. The two hypotheses which are presented in the paper are the null hypothesis and
the alternative hypothesis. For this research study, the null hypothesis is that" drug and alcohol

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consumption has no influence over the health and engagement of youth in peer-based social
events at the end of schooling life".
The alternative hypothesis for this research study is “ drug and alcohol consumption has a
positive influence over the health and engagement of youth in peer-based social events at the end
of schooling life".
The independent variable can be described or denoted as the variable whose variation is not
dependent on another. It is a variable that the researcher can control and is assumed to have a
direct impact on the dependent variable. In the research study, the independent variable is the
drug and alcohol consumption. The dependent variable, is the variable that is being measured or
tested within the research study. In which research study the dependent variable is the health and
engagement of youth.
Sampling is the process of selecting the entire part of the population for conducting the research
study. The population is the group of people that is studied within the research. The researcher of
the study used a probability sampling method for conducting and collecting the survey for
research purposes. Probability sampling can be categorized as a type of sampling when every
member of the population has a known probability for being selected as a sample within the
research. The core data within this research project was accumulated by usage of two-part of
service design with a methodology of the self reporting process. To classify more, the researcher
of the study used a ‘stratified random sampling technique’. In the ‘stratified random sampling
technique’, the population is generally divided into subgroups or straighter and each of the
members from each group is then selected randomly. The researcher of the study conducted the
first survey and sample young people intending to attend events. The first survey conducted by

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the researchers where the pre-celebration survey. 2nd survey was conducted as the post-
celebration survey.
there are several advantages as well as disadvantages of recruiting the participants in the process
of stratified random sampling. Stratified random sampling benefits the purchase of the study by
enabling them towards obtaining the sample population presents the best within the entire range
of popuation. The study by random sampling enabled the researchers of the study to divide the
population into some populations for conducting pre-celebration and post celebrations survey.
The only disadvantage of this random sampling method is that the researcher cannot classify
every member of your population to the subgroup. The advantages of this method are accurate
reflection of the population studied while the disadvantage includes overlapping data and
chances of MS interpretation and inaccuracy of the reflection stated by the population
While discussing the characteristics of demographic of people within the sample, it can be stated
that the researchers of the study included young adults residing in western countries, the majority
of them where class 12 graduates and school leavers. According to the descriptive statistics as
reported in the research paper, the majority of the responses of the sample survey were around
the age of 17. Each and every despondence intended to all have previously attended the 2009
school liver celebration in Rottnest Island. The demographic location of the Island is located 20
km of the Western coast of the path and the location is popular for Western Australian event. The
researcher of the study chose the location the bulk of the visitors entered and also exited through
a single ferry terminal.
The researcher of the study adopted a survey modality for multifactorial analysis. The research
study for the included Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests. Words discussing the inferential statistics
that were used during the analysis of the data, it can be stated that both the service contains

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psychometrically validated items and a response form that is free. The survey involved quantity
specific expectations of the personal habits related to the usage of drugs within social event. The
consumption of drugs and alcohol within the survey was estimated by use of validated tools
gathered from “the national drug strategy household survey” which is above its specific and
standard drink approach. Inferential statistics of logistic regression analysis was performed
within the survey in the research for assessing the effect of six major factors over the likelihood
of reported experience related to negative consequences. Which statistical analysis was used in
the survey for assessing the ability towards safe strategies towards an attenuating several harmful
experiences. The statistical analysis for the adopted protective behavior strategies survey which
is a validated list of very behavior that is psychometrically set for minimizing alcohol use and
acute harm related to it.
The researchers of the study revealed that the common theme for a stipulated proportion of the
attendees with the social event includes the uses of alcohol as well as the consumption of drugs
and other engagement towards other behavior that are risky, which also suggest unprotected and
casual sex. According to the research report majority of the respondents reported experiencing at
least one negative experience within the school liver celebration. The research study provided a
summary related to logistic regression analysis which is connected to some of the other
experiences of negative outcomes. Odd ratios were identified for highlighting the comparison
among levels of a variable you rather than the variable as a whole. Comparing with the
individuals who have been engaged towards safety strategies that are major with frequencies, the
odd ratios that were reported and analyzed by the researcher in the study include the following.
Respondents that have been engaged towards the protective strategies having the lowest level of
frequency where around 3.50 times more likely towards reporting hangover, they were 3.38

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times more likely towards reporting blackout as well as 10.92 times more likely towards the
chances of age reporting unprotected sex.
Analyzing the representatives of the sample among the National population of schoolies, it can
be stated that the alcohol users proportion is quiet similar towards schoolie studies of Australia
that ranges from 90 to 97%. However, in Queensland and Victoria , around 69 and 76% of the
students reported to consume more than five drinks on a typical schoolies day. Overall, the
research study uniquely demonstrated the quality that documents variation in the usage of several
patterns as well as the risk and protective factors that are associated towards risk level of alcohol
and drug consumption at schoolies day among youth.
Wong, M. C., Leung, M. C., Tsang, C. S., Lo, S. V., & Griffiths, S. M. (2013). The rising
tide of diabetes mellitus in a Chinese population: a population-based household survey on
121,895 persons. International journal of public health, 58(2), 269-276.
Wrong et al., (2014) discuss “The Rising Tide of Diabetes Mellitus among the Chinese
Population” on the basis of a population-based household survey within China. The aim and
target of the study aims to identify self reported prevalence of diabetes mellitus in the year from
2001 to 2008, together with the evaluation of the factors which are associated with the challenge
of diabetes. While we studying the target of the study in terms of alternative and null hypothesis.
The null hypothesis can be represented as “there is no prevalence and factors associated with
diabetes”.
The alternative hypothesis can be restated as “there lies prevalence of self-reported diabetes
mellitus and factors associated with diabetes". The researches of this article described the
substantial burden of diabetes mellitus to the health care system and recognize global epidemic

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as a worldwide health crisis estimating to affect 20.8 million people and incurring a huge amount
of cost.
The research study adopted stratified random sampling. This included permanent quarters within
the build-up regions as well as the segments in non-build-up regions. The design of the survey
that is obtained from the Hong Kong government included 96% of the population across all the
four rounds of the survey. The interviewers of the survey also recorded the demographic
information of the sample size like age, monthly household income, and sex. The thematic
household survey intended to collect data over the health status of the Hongkong population.
Towards discussing the demographic of the service sample, it is to know that the server included
all the land-based populations who have been the president in a non-institutional setting.
According to the article, the researchers excluded persons residing on board basis, hotel
transients and foreign domestic helpers. According to the descriptive statistics given in the paper,
the prevalence range in Hong Kong within the people aged below 35 years where 2% while
above 65 years or older were about 20%. The researcher of the study adopted the service for
men having diabetes in the year 2001, 2002,2005 and 2008 and finally compared the trains
according to the sex, age and income as the proxy measures of the socio-economic status. The
survey adopted by the researcher of this article emphasizes the uses of prevalence rates which are
adjusted by sex and age by taking into consideration of the changes within the demography of
the population across several years.
The inferential statistics that have been used for analyzing the data of this paper were by the
adaptation of a binary logistic regression model which was being conducted by self-reported
diabetes as the variable outcome. The regression analysis as the inferential statistics was used for
adopting the four variant of age, monthly household income and sex for exploring the

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heterogeneity in the association among the increasing age and self-reported diabetes between
men and women. The researchers of the study initiated the prevalence rates of diabetes for sex
and age by considering the value of p <= 5, as being statistically significant. The sex-specific
logistic regression model was adjusted to p < 0.001. The findings of the researchers after the
adjustment of the prevalence rate of diabetes reported that the majority of the adults who were
interviewed were above 15 years. The average age was 38.2 years. The age of the diabetes
prevalence among the male adult population was 2.80, 2.87, point 32 and 4.66 percentage in the
year 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2008.within the female adults the respective prevalence rate was 3.25,
3.37, 3.77 and 4.31 percent.
The interpretation of the odds ratio for the diagnosis of self reported diabetes as explain and
highlighted by the researcher by surveying the article explain that female residence where
majorly at the major diabetes risk. The study found out that the self reported diabetes prevalence
has increased by 50% from 2001 to 2008 among 69.3 percent of female residence as compared to
47% of male respondents. However, the study denoted that Mel respondents tend to have a
relation among advanced age as well the prevalence of diabetes than females. People having low
household income were more likely to report diabetes as compared to people having a high
income. Some of the limitations of the research were that the researchers relied majorly on the
self-reported information for ascertaining the prevalence of diabetes where the recent studies
reported undiagnostic diabetes. The researchers skipped some of the other variables that might
also influence the prevalence of diabetes, like the body mass index, family history, and lifestyle
factors. However, the impacts of these limitations are not too tough towards the extent of the
effectiveness of the survey results gathered in the research study.

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References
Amiri, M. (2016). Diabetes mellitus type 2; an international challenge. Annals of Research in
Dialysis, 1.
Lam, T., Liang, W., Chikritzhs, T., & Allsop, S. (2014). Alcohol and other drug use at school
leavers' celebrations. Journal of Public Health, 36(3), 408-416.
Patrick, M. E., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2014). Prevalence and predictors of adolescent alcohol use
and binge drinking in the United States. Alcohol research: current reviews, 35(2), 193.
Sanchez, Z. M., Nappo, S. A., Cruz, J. I., Carlini, E. A., Carlini, C. M., & Martins, S. S. (2013).
Sexual behavior among high school students in Brazil: alcohol consumption and legal
and illegal drug use associated with unprotected sex. Clinics, 68(4), 489-494.
Sharma, T., Kalra, J., Dhasmana, D., & Basera, H. (2014). Poor adherence to treatment: A major
challenge in diabetes. Age (Yrs), 31(40), 40.
Wong, M. C., Leung, M. C., Tsang, C. S., Lo, S. V., & Griffiths, S. M. (2013). The rising tide of
diabetes mellitus in a Chinese population: a population-based household survey on
121,895 persons. International journal of public health, 58(2), 269-276.