Examining Factors Associated With Alcohol/Drug Use in Black Women Victims of Sexual Abuse - Essay Sample

Introduction

To evaluate whether the research question is a logical extension of the purpose of the study, it is crucial to examine whether variables stated or implied in the purpose of the study are also found in the research question. According to Long and Ullman (2016), their study was aimed at examining the factors that are associated with alcohol and drug use in Black women who are victims of sexual abuse. Consequently, the variables associated with the purpose of the study include alcohol and drug use (dependent variable) and sexual assault and related trauma (independent or predictor variable).

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Logical Extension of the Research Question

The research question logically extends the purpose of the study because the research question sought to determine whether sexual assault and traumatic life experiences were linked to alcohol and drug use by African American women. That is, all the variables associated with the purpose of the study were captured in the research question. Long and Ullman's (2016) is the best to address the problem because it succinctly captures all the elements related to the research problem, especially factors attributed to problem drinking and drug use in African American sexual assault survivors.

Alignment with Research Design

It is also vital to examine whether the research question is aligned with the research design. Alignment of the research question with the research design implies that if the research design is quantitative, the research question should be quantitative too. The use of a quantitative research question is appropriate for the exploratory research design. Lastly, it is crucial to ensure that the research question aligns with the data collection method. For quantitative research question, I expected the researchers to utilize questionnaires or self-report survey instruments. Consequently, the use of self-report questionnaires to gather data related to variables of the study was appropriate for Long and Ullman's (2016) study.

Research Question and Hypothesis Alignment

Moreover, the research questions chosen by a researcher must align with the research hypothesis. This means that the independent and dependent variables found in the research questions should also be found in the hypothesis. The variables found in the research question were sexual assault and traumatic life experiences (independent variables) and alcohol and drug use (dependent variable). In their hypothesis, Long and Ullman (2016) expected that traumatic life events would positively predict maladaptive drinking- showing proper alignment between the research question and the hypothesis. In the hypothesis, both variables (traumatic life events and maladaptive drinking) found in the research question are highlighted.

Moreover, it is essential to emphasize that the current study utilized inferential research question rather than a descriptive research question. In the research question, Long and Ullman (2016) sought to address the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The inferential question follows from theory because the researchers noted that past studies show that sexual assault and related traumatic events are linked to substance abuse in survivors. Because of this, the researchers narrowed down the topic by examining whether sexual assault and traumatic life experiences were linked to alcohol and drug use by African American women as there were limited research studies focused on this topic.

Conclusion

Lastly, it is worth noting that the variables were positioned consistently from independent variable to dependent variable because the research question started with sexual assault and traumatic life experiences (independent variable) followed by alcohol and drug use (dependent variable).

References

Long, L., & Ullman, S. E. (2016). Correlates of problem drinking and drug use in black sexual assault victims. Violence and Victims, 31(1), 71-84. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-14-00024