Sociology

In an effort to resolve the inconsistent findings of previous research, Yu and Williford (1994) examined and found support for a model which specifies the relationships among criminality and the use of alcohol and other drugs in terms of a developmental sequence. According to Yu and Williford, who studied individuals in jails, drinking-driver programs, and alcoholism treatment centers, the early onset of legal drug use (e.g., alcohol and cigarettes) induces the onset of illicit drug use (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) and eventually leads to involvement in criminal activity, including offenses against persons and property  (Yu and Williford ,1994).

Data were collected from adolescent offenders at a juvenile training school in a northeastern state. The school included 416 incarcerated juvenile delinquents, and is the only facility in the state for adjudicated juvenile offenders. Questionnaires were administered to 342 (82) of the offenders. The nonparticipation rate of 18 was due to refusals (6), transfers (3), and such administrative matters as court appearances, leaves, and work releases (9). The present analysis includes only the male offenders (N  312).

The variables included in the analysis were operationally defined as follows Type of criminal offense variables were based on responses to the question, One year before coming to the training school, how many times had you done the following Respondents were then given a list of twenty-one delinquency-related offenses. For each offense, the possible response categories were 5  five or more, 4  three or four times, 3  twice, 2  once, and 1  never (Yu and Williford ,1994).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Statistical Treatment in a Quantitative Research
Quantitative data is usually in the form of statistics. Questionnaires and structured interviews are typical methods used when gaining quantitative data, as the results are easily transferable to a numerical form and further subjected to statistical treatment.  One of the advantages of statistical treatment is to describe what is non-realistic to describe, that is describing a whole population when it is very large.  This treatment also lessens bias or subjective explanations.

On the other hand, one of the drawbacks of statistical treatment is unable to describe deeper characteristics of one being studied, the deeper details are not presented and analyzed.