A Profile Of Adolescents’ Psychoactive Substance Users’ Socio-Demographics As Basis For Counselling Practice In Nigerian Post-Primary Institutions

Abstract

This social survey is aimed at profiling adolescents‟ psychoactive substance users‟ socio-demographics as basis for counseling practice in Nigerian post-primary institutions. This is against the backdrop of numerous surveys globally, without the consequent impact on the education of a volatile sample of the population – adolescents. Respondents were 1530 students in school sampled from the Niger-Delta region town of Warri with high prevalence rate of psychoactive substance abuse. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Findings show that; the most used psychoactive substance among students is alcohol, and the significant source of push to use and stay on drugs is the peer group or friends, family type like divorce does determine drug use. These findings and others were discussed comparatively with earlier researchers. It was suggested that policy makers, educators and parents observe their wards on the basis of these findings.