Focus Groups for Adolescent Alcohol Prevention: A Review
This paper provides an annotated review of Gatta et al.'s (2015) study on focus groups as an intervention tool for adolescent alcohol abuse prevention. The study analyzed data from four focus groups conducted across a school year, drawing on responses from 169 students aged 14–18. Using qualitative textual analysis, researchers identified key attitudes and beliefs about alcohol among adolescents, including perceptions of alcohol as socially normative and limited awareness of problem-drinking risks. The review evaluates the study's methodology, highlights its multi-group design as a strength, and discusses its relevance to public health campaigns and future research on teen alcohol use.
- Study Overview: Summary of study purpose, sample, and scope
- Methodology and Design: Multi-group design and process analysis strengths
- Key Findings: Teens view alcohol as normative, underestimate risks
- Relevance to Alcohol Abuse Prevention Research: Source utility for teen public health research
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What makes this paper effective
- The review moves logically from description to evaluation, first summarizing what the study did before assessing why it matters.
- It identifies a specific methodological strength — the multi-focus-group design — and explains clearly why that strength improves the reliability of the findings.
- The final paragraph connects the source to the writer's own research agenda, demonstrating purposeful source selection rather than passive summarization.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates the annotated bibliography entry as a genre: it combines concise summary with critical evaluation and a statement of the source's intended use. Rather than merely restating what the study found, the writer engages with the methodological choices — particularly the process analysis and multi-group sampling — and explains how these choices strengthen the study's generalizability.
Structure breakdown
The paper is organized in three functional moves: (1) a citation and summary of the study's purpose, sample, and data-collection method; (2) a critical evaluation of the study's design strengths and the variables it addresses; and (3) a personal research rationale explaining how the source will inform the writer's own work on adolescent alcohol prevention and public health campaigns.
Study Overview
In this study, researchers conduct a process analysis of focus groups as an intervention for alcohol abuse prevention among adolescents. Structured as a meta-analysis of focus groups, the study included data and participants from four different focus groups conducted throughout a school year, comprising a total of 86 ninth-grade students and 83 tenth-grade students between 14 and 18 years of age.
Methodology and Design
The purpose and design of this study are distinctive, drawing on data from several focus groups rather than just one. This approach corrects some of the potential problems associated with qualitative research and focus group methodology in particular, making the results more reliable. From the raw data, the researchers conducted a qualitative textual analysis to uncover adolescents' attitudes and beliefs about alcohol.
By uncovering specific belief and attitude factors affecting alcohol-related choices, the researchers were able to address several interrelated and complex variables, such as the influence of parents, media, and even financial factors impacting underage alcohol use. Using a process analysis also helped make the study's results more robust and generalizable for application in alcohol abuse prevention and teen public health awareness campaigns.
Key Findings
Findings showed that participants viewed alcohol as normative in society and were only nominally aware of the risks associated with problem drinking. The study's qualitative approach allowed for important differentiation between normative and dysfunctional patterns of using a common and legal substance — a distinction relevant to adolescent public health education.
References
Gatta, M., Rotondo, M. C. G., Svanellini, L., Lai, J., Salis, M., & Ferruzza, E. (2015). Focus groups as a means for preventing adolescent alcohol consumption: Qualitative and process analysis. Journal of Groups in Addiction & Recovery, 10(1), 63–78.
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