The authors of the article focused on the relationship between cocaine, alcohol and violence in the form of property destruction and other criminal activities. To study the relationship, the authors used a multivariate model to study the effects of alcohol and cocaine on crime exclusively without considering the effects of other factors such as socioeconomic status. They transformed the violence and the rates of property crimes into logarithms and regressed the percentage of the participants that reported to be alcoholics and those that were under effects of cocaine against the crime rates.
Sampling Techniques
The sampling technique used in identifying the subjects for this study is cluster sampling. According to Alatawi (2017), cluster sampling involves dividing the target group into clusters such as organizations, states or cities. The study was done on cities; thus, the cluster method was applied.
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Findings and Conclusion
The authors found out that there is no consistent correlation between the use of alcohol and cocaine and the crime rates among the cities. There were both positive and negative coefficients; there were both weak ones and strong ones. When variables are correlated, a change in one variable leads to a change in the other (Schober et al., 2018). The authors got different correlation coefficient values from one city to another; therefore, lack of consistency. Alcohol use is associated with crime, while cocaine is not.
Sampling Methods Impact on the Generalizability of the Study
The sampling method used made it hard to generalize the study because the authors note that the DUF /ADAM samples did not involve all the arrestees and are not random. The participants who had used alcohol in the last 72 hours were not intoxicated; thus, the effect on crime could not be established. The UCR crimes were only those that are known by the police agencies, thus not inclusive.
Improvement in Knowledge of Drug, Alcohol and Crime
I find the article useful in that cocaine does not lead to aggressiveness and other factors such as socioeconomic status lead to high crime rates.
Issues with the Methodology that Might Limit the Use of this Study to Direct Public Policy Concerning Drugs and Crime
The methodology is not inclusive, and the results are not consistent. This study cannot be used to direct the public. Further, the research relied on secondary data which may not be enough to come into a valid conclusion.
References
Alatawi, Massad. (2017). Overcoming the Limitation of Cluster Samples with a Simplified Sampling Method. International journal of research in management & social science, 5 (3), 7-11.
Schober, P., Boer, C., & Shwarte, L. (2018). Correlation Coefficients: Appropriate Use and Interpretation. Journal of anesthesia and analgesia, 126 (5), 1763-1767.
Susan, M., Christopher, M., Helen, W., & Yan, Z. (2004). Trends in Alcohol Use, Cocaine Use, and Crime. Journal of drug issues, 34 (2), 333.
