Substance Abuse among Out-of-School Adolescents: Examining the Roles of Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem, Social Rejection, and Parental Monitoring in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Substance abuse in out-of-school adolescents had turned out to be a public health issue in urban places of Nigeria. This study was undertaken to assess the predictions of peer influence, self-esteem, social rejection, and parental monitoring in respect of substance use among school dropouts in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Snowball sampling was done for at least 60 out-of-school adolescents from three densely populated local government areas that are high on indication of substance use among adolescents. Data were gathered using a validated structured questionnaire having measures for the key psychosocial variables of substance use behaviours. The results of the analysis using correlation and multiple regression techniques showed that all the four psychosocial factors were significantly predictive of substance abuse. Rewards from peer influence and lack of supervision by parents ranked the highest, followed by social rejection and low self-esteem. A substantial amount of variance in substance use among participants was explained by the model. These findings bring to fore some of the complexities involving individual and environmental factors that motivate substance involvement among marginalised youth populations. This thus calls for the very urgent implementation of community-based intervention programmes for peer group dynamics or increased parental involvement with protective psychosocial functioning among susceptible adolescents. Reducing the prevalence of adolescent substance abuse and its attendant risks may also require specifically tailored interventions in slum communities and informal settlements. This study complements the developing body of knowledge around youth substance behaviour in sub-Saharan Africa while providing evidence toward holistic preventive strategies.