Empirical Investigation of Factors Influencing Drug and Substance Abuse in Tertiary Institutions in Osun State, Nigeria
Abstract: The use of drugs and substances is ubiquitous among students around the world. This scenario has caused great concern for politicians, parents and scholars. This study examines factors that are perceived to influence substance abuse among Nigerian students, especially with reference to the selected tertiary institutions in Osun State, Nigeria. A purposive sampling technique was used to select four tertiary institutions, while a judgmental sampling technique was employed to select 100 students each from the four selected tertiary institutions totaling 400 students as a sample size for the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the analysis, while both descriptive and inferential statistics such as percentage, mean, Chi-square, and factor analysis were employed to analyse the data. The result shows that social media is the strong factor that influences drug and substance abuse with the highest mean value of 3.920 followed by a desire to belong, peer group, poor parenting, family background, accessibility to drugs and substances, and environmental factors. Furthermore, Evidence from factor analysis showcases that social media and desire to belong have an impact on drugs and substance abuse. Therefore, the study recommends that the government should regulate the advertisement of alcoholic drinks and also revise the regulation on the minimum age for alcohol consumption considering that there are students in high school well above 18 years of age.
Keywords: Keywords: Drug: Substance: Abuse: Alcoholic: Student: Social media
