Department of Community Medicine and Primary Care, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria.
Department of Paediatrics, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria.
Int Q Community Health Educ. 2021 Oct;42(1):57-61. doi: 10.1177/0272684X20974547. Epub 2020 Nov 20.
Substance abuse describes the unsafe use of psychoactive substances. It leads to dependence on the abused substance with subsequent development of health disorders and mortality. Globally, millions of adolescents and young adults from low and middle income countries are prone to substance abuse with consequent far reaching impact on national development. This study was done to assess the perception of substance abuse amongst the adolescents and young adults in Ikenne local government area, Ogun State, Nigeria. A cross sectional descriptive qualitative study was conducted. Information was gathered via nine focus group discussions. Systematic Analysis of data was done. Ninety-three youths (31 males and 62 females) aged 19.5 ± 3.9 years participated. Majority of the participants showed high level of awareness on substance abuse and its effects. They stated that it was commonplace in the community, with peer pressure being the major influencing factor. Alcohol was perceived to be the commonest abused substance. Others include cigarettes, marijuana and codeine. None were aware of existing laws against substance abuse. The major factor responsible for the negative perception in the abuse of substance was peer influence and low level of awareness of the National regulations on substance abuse. It is recommended that more education, increase in awareness of the national regulations and peer-modelling technique should be strengthened within the community to correct the negative perception by these group of people.
物质滥用是指对精神活性物质的不安全使用。它会导致对滥用物质的依赖，进而引发健康障碍和死亡。在全球范围内，数以百万计的来自中低收入国家的青少年和年轻成年人容易出现物质滥用问题，这对国家发展产生了深远的影响。本研究旨在评估尼日利亚奥贡州伊肯纳地方政府地区青少年和年轻成年人对物质滥用的看法。这是一项横断面描述性定性研究。通过九个焦点小组讨论收集信息。对数据进行系统分析。共有 93 名青少年（31 名男性和 62 名女性）参与，年龄为 19.5±3.9 岁。大多数参与者对物质滥用及其影响表现出高度的认识。他们表示，这种现象在社区中很普遍，同伴压力是主要的影响因素。酒精被认为是最常见的滥用物质。其他包括香烟、大麻和可待因。没有人知道现有的禁止滥用物质的法律。导致对滥用物质的负面看法的主要因素是同伴的影响和对国家物质滥用法规的低认识。建议在社区内加强更多的教育、提高对国家法规的认识和同伴示范技术，以纠正这些人群对物质滥用的负面看法。
