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Effects of Drug Abuse on Child Protection Outcomes of Vulnerable Teenage Girls in Laikipia West Subcounty, Kenya
Michael Muriithi Mwaniki
David Gichuhi
Abstract
Children, particularly girls, in many parts of the world, are vulnerable to abuses in different forms, exploitation, and neglect. Child protection aimed at vulnerable teenage girls has been implemented in many countries. The purpose of the study was to analyze the effects of drug abuse on child protection outcomes of vulnerable teenage girls in Laikipia West Sub-County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following specific objective: to analyze the effects of teenage drug abuse on child protection outcomes of vulnerable teenage girls. The study was guided by the ecological systems theory. The study adopted a convergent parallel research design and was carried out in Laikipia West Sub-County, Laikipia County, Kenya, within its six administrative wards. The study targeted 10,439 community leaders and teenage girls involved in child protection outcomes. The study used the stratified and cluster sampling technique to sample community leaders and teenage girls, resulting in a total of 384 participants comprising the entire sample size inclusive of 8 community leaders and 384 teenage girls. The researcher collected responses from the chosen participants through a series of structured questionnaires and an interview guide. Quantitative data was analyzed through SPSS, with descriptive statistics such as means, frequencies, and percentages used to summarize the data. Inferential statistics-regression was also conducted, and thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. From the findings The R-squared in this study was 0.770, which shows that the variable drug abuse can explain 77.0% of child protection outcomes of vulnerable teenage girls in Laikipia West sub county, Kenya. From the findings the researcher concluded that teenage girls drug abuse is a significant issue affecting teenage girls in Laikipia West, with the majority of respondents agreeing that addiction to drugs negatively impacts their well-being and protection, as reflected in high mean scores. From the findings the researcher concluded that teenage girls drug abuse is a significant issue affecting teenage girls in Laikipia West, with the majority of respondents agreeing that addiction to drugs negatively impacts their well-being and protection, as reflected in high mean scores. The study recommends that community-based interventions should prioritize increasing awareness and education about the risks associated with drug abuse, targeting both teenagers and their families.
