Module 3 Assignment 1- Critique of a quantitative article Critique a quantitative study for design elements and study validity. Use the guidelines for critiquing design elements and study validity, Box 10.1 (p. 223) of your textbook. Read the Introduction and Methods section of the assigned quantitative article (refer to the entirety of the article as needed) and write a paper (no more than 4 pages) evaluating the article for critical elements for design and validity. Critique of a Quantitative Article-Family Contexts and Sleep During Adolescence Critique of a Quantitative Article-Family Contexts and Sleep During Adolescence The article may also be found in the Toolkit accompanying the Resource Manual. Be sure to read carefully, and pay attention to grammar, sentence structure, and APA guidelines. Do not be repetitive, just state the facts and be concise. Be sure to refer to the Rubric used to grade this assignment. Schmeer, K., Tarrence, J., Browning, C., Calder, C., Ford, J., & B

Critique of a Quantitative Article-Family Contexts and Sleep During Adolescence

The article “Family Contexts and Sleep During Adolescence” by Schmeer et al. (2019) explores the relationship between family contexts and sleep patterns among adolescents. The authors found that adolescents in disadvantaged family contexts have a higher intra-individual variation (IIV) in the duration of night sleep, as well as a lower average nightly sleep duration. By exploring various aspects of the family environment, such as living in unmarried-parent, socioeconomic status, and caregiver mental health, the study found that low socioeconomic status (SES), poor households, and families with stressed caregivers have a negative impact on the quality and duration of sleep-in adolescents and their health contributing to disparities in health outcomes.

The quantitative study has applied various quantitative study design elements that greatly validate the study and its findings. For instance, the study has adequate statistical power as it comprehensively defines the variables focused on in the research. In the article, the independent variables; family structure, socioeconomic status, family economic challenges, caregiver distress and depression, and the related socio-emotional environment, and the dependent variable; the number of hours slept, are well operationalized to create the contrast that increases the study’s statistical power. Other confounding variables, such as the age of the youth, gender of the youth, ethnicity, and number of children in the household, were well controlled, which further improved the precision of the study. Additionally, the study’s findings supported the two developed hypotheses, meaning that the study’s statistical conclusion validity was plausible and the findings were correct.

The criteria or how the sample for the study was selected shows that the researchers were able to eliminate biases. For instance, the study employs a population sample in which N = 1291 adolescents participated. The selection also screened the selected adolescents to ensure that they had at least three nights of sleep with a focus on IIV estimates and mean sleep duration. Additionally, other confounding factors specific to the individual participants such as gender and number of children in the family, were controlled to ensure that they did not affect the equivalence of the groups being compared.

The study appropriately balances both internal and external validity concerns in a number of ways. Firstly, internal concerns of the study are addressed by the way in which the sample population was selected; the confounding individual characteristics with the capacity to influence the outcomes of the study were controlled. Secondly, the authors further address any internal validity concerns by utilizing appropriate data and statistical analyses to examine and determine the associations between family environments and sleep outcomes. The authors utilized survey and ecological momentary assessment data and advanced multi-level regression modeling (Schmeer et al., 2019).

The study also satisfies external validity. External validity is achieved based on how a study’s findings are generalizable and applicable in other settings (Murad et al., 2018). The findings presented in the article can be applied to understand the relationship between family context and adolescent sleep patterns. The authors also provide clear recommendations for future studies and clearly acknowledge the limitations of their study. In conclusion, the article helps understand how family contexts influence adolescent sleep patterns. The overall article satisfies the major methodological quality criteria as well as both internal and external validity.

References

Murad, M. H., Katabi, A., Benkhadra, R., & Montori, V. M. (2018). External validity, generalisability, applicability, and directness: A brief primer. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, 23(1), 17–19. https://doi.org/10.1136/EBMED-2017-110800

Schmeer, K. K., Tarrence, J., Browning, C. R., Calder, C. A., Ford, J. L., & Boettner, B. (2019). Family contexts and sleep during adolescence. SSM – Population Health, 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/