An Exploration Of The Prevalence Of Drug Use And Abuse Among Adolescents In Oye Ekiti, Nigeria.

ABSTRACT

Drug and Substance Abuse has been talked about worldwide and Nigeria is part of that globe. Teachers, parents, church officials and other stakeholders have been at the forefront trying to find out the causes and ways of controlling it. Therefore, there is a need to curb this vice. This study aimed at finding out what makes adolescents abuse drugs and the effects that arise out of this practice with reference to Oye Ekiti, Nigeria. The study also suggested measures that can be taken to control drug and substance abuse. The study was guided by the following objectives; to establish the extent to which parent's sources of income influence the prevalence of drug and substance abuse; to establish the extent to which school administration influences the prevalence of drug and substance abuse among adolescents in Oye Ekiti; to establish how peer pressure influences drug and substance abuse among adolescents in Oye Ekiti; what measures can be taken to minimize drug and substance abuse?. The target population used in this work was 2 secondary schools, one higher learning institute and some selected participants in the community. The sample consisted of one hundred and eighty respondents. Simple random sampling was used to select the respondents. Data was collected using sets of questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software programmed and presented using both qualitative and descriptive methods such as frequencies and percentages and presented as tables and figures. Mental disorder is the greatest effect of drug abuse among drug takers. In this work, it was found out that there is no significant association between the parental income and prevalence of drug abuse and also that the counseling unit has been helpful in working towards the curbing of the problem in the society and lastly, that these drugs and substances were being gotten by the users from their peers The study concludes that drug and substances abuse is a complex phenomenon in our society today and most especially among the adolescents and when we are talking about adolescents we are talking about a boy or a girl between the ages of eleven and twenty-four years of age. Therefore there is need for more adolescents to explore deeper on this pertinent issue. The researcher recommended that all stakeholders be involved in curriculum review and reform to address drug abuse related issues and guidance and counseling sessions enhanced in changing students behaviors