Psycho-social predictors of substance abuse among youths

Abstract

This study investigates psycho-social predictors of substance abuse among youths. A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Ninety-two purposively selected youths consisting 82 males and 10 females whose ages ranged between 18 and 24years (M= 21.08, S.D. = 1.86) participated in the study. Data collected was subjected to SPSS v21 for statistical analysis. The presence of meaning in life and self-esteem jointly predicted substance abuse (R2 = .32, F (2, 89) = 20.68, p < .001), and accounted for about 32% of the observed variation in substance abuse. Living situation (β = .20) also had significant predictive impact on substance abuse among the respondents. It was concluded that both the psychological (meaning in life and self-esteem) and social (living situations) factors have significant impact on substance abuse among youths, thus researchers and practitioners should consider to incorporate them in designing prevention and intervention programs for substance abuse among youths.

Key words: Substance abuse, Meaning in life, Self-esteem, Living situation, Nigeria