Predisposing Factors to Drug Abuse among In-School Adolescents in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria

Drug abuse among in-school adolescents is a problem which the government of Nigeria and indeed some other countries are yet to find a lasting solution to. Drug abuse among school children can disrupt the smooth running of teaching and learning in school. One of the ways of solving the problem is by trying to find out what leads in-school adolescents into the act. The objectives of this study were to examine the predisposing factors to drug abuse among in-school adolescents in Kwara State and to examine the influence of the variables of gender, age, religion and level of study on the respondents’ response on the predisposing factors. A descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised of the adolescents in secondary school and university. A sample of 403 students were selected through a multistage sampling procedure in order to participate in the study. Data was collected via a questionnaire titled ‘Predisposing Factors to Drug Abuse (PFDA)’. The questionnaire was validated by experts in test and measurement design. It has a reliability coefficient of 0.68 which adjudged the instrument to be reliable. Data was analysed with mean, rank order, t-test and analysis of variance. Hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings showed that the factors that predispose in-school adolescents to drug abuse were: peer influence, depression, lack of good parental care, low self-esteem, poor academic performance, among other factors. Findings further revealed that age, gender, religion and level of education did not make the respondents differ in their responses on the predisposing factors to drug abuse among in-school adolescents. It is recommended that counsellors, parents and stake holders in education should initiate a serious campaign regarding sensitization against drug abuse. It is also recommended that academic programs should be learner-centred.


Introduction
Drug abuse is a problem that continues to draw the attention of Nigeria and the general public. It has become a common phenomenon among in-school adolescents in Nigeria irrespective of age, religion and class, though older adults are also involved. A drug is a substance designed for the cure of an illness which can be physical, mental, social, physiological and psychological. Okoye (2001) defined a drug as a substance that can affect and change the biological functioning of the body through its chemical actions. Escandon and Galvez (2006) stated that drugs, when taken, alter the psychological and biological functioning of the body. It also affects the central nervous system. Balogun (2006) further defined a drug as any substance that modifies perception, cognition, mood, behaviour and general body functions. Generally, drugs are chemical modifiers of the body.
Drug abuse is simply defined as the misuse of a drug. It comes into play when a drug is not used according to the medical prescription or for the purpose it is meant for. Drug abuse also occurs when drug is taken, but not for medical reason. It also occurs when people take a drug that is forbidden by the law of a country. Animashaun and Animashaun (2014) conceived drug abuse as over-indulgence in, and dependence on, a stimulant, depressants and chemical substances leading to effects that are detrimental to individual's physical, emotional and mental health. Drugs are of various types and serve different purposes. Drugs are classified as follows: i.
Narcotics: These are drugs that stop pain and induce sleep when smoked, sniffed or injected. Examples are heroine, morphine and codeine.
ii. Depressants and sedatives: These are drugs that relieve tension and anxiety and induce sleep. Examples of such drugs are lexotan, valium and magdon. They are called sleeping tablets.
iii. Stimulants: These are drugs that stimulate the body and make the body active. Examples are: cigarettes, caffeine and kola nuts. There are also other drugs, such as cannabis sativa, alcohol and tobacco.
Certain factors predispose in-school adolescents into taking these drugs. Nigeria as a nation and the world in general consist of matured adults who abuse drugs even in the presence of children, relatives, students, neighbours, among others. Isiaka and Issah (2015) stated that the misuse of drugs has become an extrinsic component of our social reality. Some parents send their children to buy drugs for them, which they sometimes taken in their presence. Some of these adolescents who are naïve take these drug abusers as their role models. Furthermore, peers do lure their members into abusing drugs. Academic related problems such as poor grades and failure can make in-school adolescents abuse drugs. Commenting on drug abuse (Schuster et al., 2001 andMerline et al., 2004) stated that the easy availability of these drugs in shops and certain hideouts where abusers can easily get them, at whatever quantity is needed, contributes to the problem of drug abuse. Another predisposing factor of drug abuse is the inability of the security operatives in tracking down drug abusers for adequate punishment, which could have deterred those that would want to get involved with drugs. This has a multiplier effect in the sense that the abusers could be encouraged to continue since there is no punishment for it. Another contributing factor could be family poverty. Poverty breeds a lot of problems in the home. When parents persistently fail to provide educational and other needs of adolescents, it could lead them into drug abuse. Mackenzie, Annette and Mark (2013) noted that childhood maltreatment in the form of abuse and negligence can lead an adolescent to abusing drugs.
Consequences of drug abuse cannot be over-emphasised. The effect is felt virtually by all the people in a society. Many of the criminal activities committed in society are derived from their root cause -drug abuse. Mohammed (2006) discovered in a study entitled "Incidence of Drug Abuse and Violence among the Youths in Ilorin Metropolis" that drug abuse among youth lead them to violent and criminal acts such as murder, robbery, assassination, kidnapping, cultism, and rape among other crimes. Moreover, drug abuse can make in-school adolescents drop out of school or to perform poorly in examinations. Abusers become absentminded when teaching and learning is going on. Academic failure caused by drug abuse could influence an adolescent to commit suicide. Drug abuse among in-school adolescents can also lead to a complete disarray of academic activities in school.

Statement of the Problem
Drug use and abuse is on the increase in Nigeria particularly in Kwara State. In-school adolescents are not exempt. Akinyemi (2008) revealed that despite the efforts of the Nigerian National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other governmental agencies to stem the tide of substance abuse, there has been a consistently rapid rise in the number of cases of drug abuse, particularly among people between the ages of 10-24 years. This increase in drug abuse has continued to this day. There are several reports on the news about drug abuse. An example of such report was in Albarika F.M. 95.1 in 2019 that drug abuse was on the increase in Kwara State. In the same year, Kwara State was rated among the highest states that and abuse drugs in Nigeria. Among the age groups that abuse drugs are youth and adolescents. Isiaka and Issah (2015) noted that Nigerian youth constitute a significant portion of the overall number of drug abusers in the country, and at the same time, they are a vanguard of violent and aggressive behaviour in Nigerian society. These aggressive and violent behaviours result to criminal activities such as stealing, murder, rape, kidnapping, and assassination, just to mention a few. The Nigerian Government through security operatives has been trying to curb these criminal activities, but victory is yet to be won. These criminal activities have resulted into untold security problems in the country.
Drug abuse among in-school adolescents has also caused some students to fail academically and they have eventually dropped out of school. The rate of suicide is on the increase in Nigerian society particularly among students who are in school. It was on this basis that the researcher decided to examine the predisposing factors to drug abuse among in-school adolescents in Kwara State.

Research Question
What are the predisposing factors to drug abuse among in-school adolescents in Ilorin, Kwara State?

Research Hypotheses
Ho1: There is no significant difference in the predisposing factors to drug abuse among inschool adolescents on the basis of age.
Ho2: There is no significant difference in the predisposing factors to drug abuse among inschool adolescents on the basis of gender.
Ho3: There is no significant difference in the predisposing factors to drug abuse among inschool adolescents on the basis of religion.
H04: There is no significant difference in the predisposing factors to drug abuse among inschool adolescents on the basis of level of study.

Methodology
A descriptive survey design was adopted by the researcher for this study. The population consisted of the adolescents in secondary school and university in Kwara State. The total number of the adolescents is about twenty thousand. The target population was adolescents in senior secondary school and the University in the Ilorin metropolis of Kwara State. The sample of 403 adolescents were selected through a multistage sampling procedure to participate in the study. At stage one, adolescents in the secondary school and in the University in Ilorin metropolis of Kwara State were selected through a purposive sampling technique and they were asked to participate. At stage two, adolescents in four senior secondary schools and the University of Ilorin, in Ilorin metropolis were selected to participate. At stage three, adolescents who were in their fourth and fifth year in the senior secondary school and adolescents in their first and second years in the university were selected. The sample of 403 was finally selected through a simple random sampling technique.
The researcher designed an instrument tagged "Predisposing Factors to Drug Abuse (PFDA)" was used to collect data. The instrument was patterned after the four-point Likerttype of scale of SA=Strongly agree, A=Agree, D=Disagree and SD= Strongly disagree. The instrument was validated by experts in test and measurement. The reliability coefficient of 0.68 was established through a split-half method of establishing reliability. The instrument was judged reliable for the study. The scoring format for the items in the questionnaire was thus: SA=strongly agree (4 points), A=agree (3 points), D=disagree (2 points), SD=strongly disagree (1 point). Therefore, the mean score was obtained by adding the points and dividing by 4. Thus: 4+3+2+1=10/4=2.50. The bench mark was 2.50. Items in the questionnaire whose mean were 2.50 and above were regarded as factors that could dispose in-school adolescents to drug abuse. Items whose means were less than 2.50 were not regarded as predisposing factors to drug abuse.
Data was analysed with Mean and rank order (for the research question), while the ttest and Analysis of variance were used to test hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. It also showed that 47 (11.7%) respondents were between the ages of 13-15 years, 182 (45.2%) were between 16-18 years, and 174 (43.2%) were between 19-21 years. Also, by religion, 199 (49.4%) were Christians, 198 (49.1%) were Muslims, and 6 (1.5%) followed other religions. In terms of the level of education, 222 (55.1%) were from secondary school and 181 (44.9%) were from university.

Research Question
What are the predisposing factors to drug abuse among in-school adolescents in Ilorin, Kwara State?  Table 2 shows that all the items except item 9 are factors that predispose in-school adolescents to drug abuse because their various means are above the bench mark of 2.50. Item 9 is not a predisposing factors to drug abuse because the mean is 2.44 and is less than the cut off mark of 2.50.

Hypotheses Testing
Ho1: There is no significant difference in the predisposing factor to drug abuse among inschool adolescents on the basis of age.  Table 2 shows that the p-value of .797 is greater than the 0.05 level of significance and the cal.F of 0.23 is less than the crit. F value of 3.00. This result shows that the hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference in the predisposing factors to drug abuse among inschool adolescents is not rejected. This means that age did not make the respondents differ in their response on the factors that could dispose in-school adolescents to drug abuse.
Ho2: There is no significant difference in the predisposing factors to drug abuse among the in-school adolescents on the basis of gender.  Table 3 shows that the calculated value of 0.52 is less than the critical table value of 1.64 and the p-value of 0.95 is greater than the 0.05 level of significance. Since the cal. value is less than the critical value and the p-value greater than the 0.05 level of significance, the hypothesis is not rejected, which implies that gender of the respondents did not make them differ on the predisposing factors to drug abuse among the in-school adolescents.
Ho3: There is no significant difference in the predisposing factors to drug abuse among the in-school adolescents on the basis of religion.  Table 4 showed that the calculated F. of 0.32 is less than the critical F. of 3.00 and the p-value of 0.727 is greater than 0.05 level of significance, therefore the hypothesis is not rejected. The religion of the respondents did not make them differ in their response on the predisposing factors to drug abuse.
Ho4: There is no significant difference in the predisposing factors to drug abuse among inschool adolescents in Ilorin, Kwara State on the basis of level of education.  Table 5 shows that the calculated t. of 1.05 is less than the critical table value of 1.66 and pvalue of .847 is greater than 0.05 level of significance, therefore the hypothesis is not rejected. Hence, the level of education did not make the respondents differ in their responses on the predisposing factors to drug abuse among in-school adolescents.

Discussion
The findings from the research questions showed that the predisposing factors to drug abuse among in-school adolescents are: peer influence, depression, lack of good parental care, low self-esteem, desire to feel high, poor academic performance, easy accessibility to drugs, ignorance of the consequence, and lack of punishment to offenders among other factors. This finding is consistent with Isiaka and Issah (2015) who noted that drug abusers are exposed to situations that encourage crime. Isiaka and Issah further submitted that a consistent relationship to experienced drug abusers has an inherent capacity to demoralize inexperienced drug abusers which eventually turn them into incorrigible drug users and abusers. In support of this finding is Mackenzie, Annette and Mark (2013) who discovered that an association with deviant peers, popularity and stress can predispose adolescents to drug use and abuse. Further support to this finding is The Prevention Coalition (2020) who opined that the risk factors to drug abuse are: academic failure, availability of drugs in the communities, improper parenting, and low socioeconomic status, among other factors.
Findings in Hypothesis One showed that the ages of the respondents did not make them differ in their responses on the factors that could dispose in-school adolescents to drug abuse. The findings may be so because adolescents are passing through the same situations that are common to them in that particular stage of adolescence and they share the same school exper-iences. This finding is in tandem with the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (2013) who discovered that progression to harder drugs is accelerated and increases with age regardless of sex.
The finding in Hypothesis Two revealed that the gender of the respondents did not make them differ in their response on the predisposing factors to drug abuse. This might be due to the fact that both male and female adolescents face similar problems in the school and in social life. However, the finding is against The Prevention Coalition (2020) who argued that males are twice likely to have drug abuse problems than females.
Further findings in Hypothesis Three showed that the religion of the respondents did not make them differ in their responses on the predisposing factors to drug abuse. This result may be because even though the respondents belong to different religions, they are all members of the larger society and hence are aware of what is obtainable in society. This finding is supported by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2014) who cited in a study that religion is a protective mechanism against drug abuse, but that the effect may diminish in the light of exposure to users. Being around people who take drugs can increase drug-taking, even among people who are very religious. By implication of this research, adolescents who are religious can still be lured into drug abuse by other users around them.
The finding in Hypothesis Four showed that the level of education did not make the respondents have a different perception on the predisposing factors for drug abuse. They did not differ in their perception probably because they are all students. Even though they are at different levels, they have same or similar academic environment and problems.

Conclusion
The study examined predisposing factors to drug abuse among in-school adolescents in Kwara State, Nigeria. Descriptive research was employed in the study. The study concluded that factors that predispose in-school adolescents to drug abuse as perceived by the respondents include peer influence, poor academic performance, depression, lack of good parenting, poverty, low self-esteem, easy accessibility of the drugs, ignorance of the consequences of drug abuse, and psychological problems among other factors. It was also concluded that age, gender, religion and the level of study of the respondents did not make them differ in their perception on the predisposing factors to drug abuse among in-school adolescents in the Ilorin metropolis of Kwara state.

Recommendations
Based on the findings of this research, the following recommendations were made: 1.
The counsellors and stake holders in education should initiate a serious campaign against drug abuse in society, particularly in tertiary institutions, secondary, and primary schools.