Psychoactive Substance Use: A Study Among Teenage Students in Makurdi, Nigeria

The use of psychoactive substance begins during adolescence when an individual is vulnerable to social and peer pressures. This study aims at determining the prevalence, reasons and correlates of lifetime use of psychoactive substance among adolescent students in Makurdi, North central Nigeria. A total of 412 secondary school students were recruited for the study using a stratified sampling technique. A proforma self-administered questionnaire was designed and administered to the participants. The participants range from 13 to 20 years of age, they were mostly male 52.9%, Majority are from low socio-economic class families (44.9%) and have their parents married (85.7%). The result revealed that the current use prevalence and lifetime prevalence are 28.9% and 58.5% respectively. The participants use substance for reasons which include; to obtain energy, to stay awake to read, to cope with pain, to relax with friends, to satisfy strong desire for the substances, to cope with anxiety, to feel high, to aid sleep, to feel bold and because they feel sick without using the substances. Lifetime use of psychoactive substance was found to be significantly associated with use of substance by parents, living with one parent, quarrels between parents or guardian, maltreatments from parents or guardians, problems coping with school work, living close to where substance is sold and haven engaged sex before.