The Effect of Drug Abuse Among Secondary School Students
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
This study is aimed at investigating drug abuse and its health implications on students in secondary schools. The following therefore are some of the objectives at the end of the study.
- Students would be informed of the negative effects of drug use and abuse.
- Parents and teachers will be acquainted with their roles in curbing drug abuse from early childhood.
- More researchers will be encouraged to carry out research work on the causes of drug abuse and its remedy.
- Government will be able to make policies and laws that will prohibit the use of dangerous drugs.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Drug is any chemical be it liquid, solid (amphioxus) or gas derived from organic substances or inorganic substances. It might be traditional or orthodox which is used for the internal and external application in or on the human body in treatment of diseases or to induce calmness, reduce pains or modify the functions of the various systems of the body. Falownyo (1982) defines drugs abused as any substance other than the normal food, which by is chemical nature affects the structure and function of the body system of a living organism especially man.
Zoka (1989) says since learning is a behavioural change, drug abuse, which evolve fro experience is therefore a learned and practical behaviour. He sees drug as reinforcement and hold that evidence from chemical studies, which reveals that certain drugs provide inherent gratification. Drugs as reinforcement and holds that evidence from chemical studies, which reveals that certain drugs provide inherent gratification. According to Pela (1982) drug is any chemical substance that has effect upon the body or mind by modifying one of its functions. He also defined drug as any substance taken which maybe injuries to health.
Smith (1979) reported that intravenous administration of pleasurable drug produce immediate and intense physical pleasure described as a whole body organism and often called “Flus”. Heroine produces the same effects and if such pleasure is desirable, the individual will soon learn to maintain such pleasurable state by reporting behaviour which can then lead to drug abuse.
Efobi (1983) divide the drugs that youth usually abuse into four namely:
- The piates
- Euphoric drugs
- Hypnotic
- Alcohol and cigarettes, which the layman to.
According to him, what is amazing is that doctors, pharmacists, nurses and medical workers who know the harmful effects of alcohol and cigarettes smoking continue to consume these drugs in large quantities. The classification according to him of people who are likely to develop drug dependency is as follows:
- People who have problems and need drugs to sleep or lighten their.
- Medical workers who have access to such drugs
- People of advancing age who usually experience aches and pains.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
This is also designed to collect useful information by use of questionnaires and non-participant. Observation method on the effect of drug abuse on the healthy academic performance of students in school and the role teachers can play in controlling drug abuse. Both structured and unstructured (open-ended) questions were used in this study. The essence was to give the respondents the opportunity of answering and expressing their own view or opinion on the effect of drug among the students to the investigation. The oral interview had both structured and unstructured questions. It was meant to gather more information which were not concluded in this questionnaires.
Due to the act that many schools are located in Benin. I selected some secondary schools to facilitate easy distribution of questionnaires and non-participant observation and other research materials. The study covered some selected secondary school students in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. The areas covered are:
- Springfield secondary school
- Catholic comprehensive college
- Great success educational centre.
Catholic comprehensive college because of its reputable academic and other extra curriculum excellence and it is always associated with students on high and middle class homes.
Spring field secondary school was also chosen because it is close to the areas that are indulged in drug abuse. After much sampling and inquiry it was found that even in mixed schools the rate at which drug are abused are mostly from the sector of male.
SAMPLE AND SAMPLING METHOD
The sampling method used for the study was cluster sampling method, the method of questionnaires distributed to students were 390 (three hundred and ninety). Those duly completed and returned were two hundred in number. In all the school visited, a class was taken fro the junior secondary school and a class from senior secondary school. Names in the register were also considered as they were selected alphabetically.
The questionnaires were distributed to the four various methods with an average study of fifty questionnaires to each school bearing in mind the unequal population of those schools.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS
This chapter is concerned with the analysis, the interpretation and discussion of result of the research carried out, was to find out drug abuse and its health implications among secondary schools students in Egor Local Government Area in Edo State. One hundred and fifty two questionnaires were administered to one hundred and fifty two students in the below listed schools.
- Spring field secondary school
- Catholic comprehensive college
- Great success educational centre
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
SUMMARY
The investigation carried out on drug abuse were aimed at finding the extent of drug problems among students in selected secondary schools, the cause of such involvement, the drugs commonly used, the nature of students involved, their general attitude towards drug use. From the analysis majority of the respondents agree that drug abuse is the use of drug without medical or practitioners directives, while few believed that drug abuse is defined as excessive use of drug by a person such use being considered to be illegal immoral by culture and also resulting in harm to the person or society.
Based on these investigations, it has been discovered that drugs are abused these days due to depression and pressure from peer group to experience a temporary sense of well being. Other personal reasons given are the belief that drug can solve problems. Provide enjoyment to overcome peer group pressure, provide the opportunity for the youth top taste what their mates are doing so as to feel high.
Drug commonly taken by students include alcohol, cigarette, kola nuts and Indian hemp (lambia) which from investigation are mainly gotten from friends. They take these drugs mostly during examination or when they are with friends. However, majority of them take these drugs to relieve their burden and pains as well as to be bold and happy. Some of the effects of drug abuse from investigation are mental illness, sleeplessness, and lack of concentration, irritability, boldness and aggressiveness. These are what the user feels or experience when these drugs are taken. Various ways or methods in controlling or curbing drug abuse among youths include referring servile case to mental healthy department educating them on the effect of drug on their performances in classes as well as bringing in health professionals to deliver lectures on drug abuse club. “Drug free club should be formed in schools in order to inculcate in the use of some self discipline”.
CONCLUSION
From the look of things, it will be accepted that there is probably no way we can suddenly eradicate drug use among students in our secondary schools. However, the problem can be reduced through educating the students on the effect of drug abuse, its effect on their performance, which reduces unpleasant experiences and control indiscipline amongst them.
Also parents and teachers have a large role to play as they are close to the students, they should help by working hand in hand with each other by paying more attention to their children, watching them closely in their behaviour, activities and attitude and make necessary correction along the line to be of good behaviour.
In another way, the mass media have a role to play in the development and correction of the child. They should not sit on the fence; they must take greater responsibility to reduce the use and abuse of drug amongst students. The mass media such as the radio, television, some time in 1990 featured a programme on drug abuse, thereby increasing the awareness of the people to see a doctor for their ailment instead of embarking on self medication.
RECOMMENDATION
After collecting analysis and summarizing the findings of this research work, the following recommendations were made;
That education should be entrenched into the nations secondary school and primary school curriculum. This is to ensure that before the opportunity to sample drugs is available to the children, they are already aware of the implications, hazards and dangers of addictions through systematic class studies.
The parents should set themselves up as good model for the young ones to emulate. It was found out during the course of study that parents are the greatest and most efficient embodiment of all the bad and wrong doing especially in the area of drugs life, alcohol, cigarette, when these are done in the presence of the children with complete relish and in total abandonment without an atom of respect of decency or decorum the children are bound to copy.
The government should not only legislate several laws and penalties for drug offenders but should ensure that adequate measures are taken to the effect. There should not be any loophole through which defaulters can slip through fast free. The alternatives of drug control to students are that, class and home work, should be given to students while still in schools.
Apart from giving them enough class and home work to do, the school authority should follow through these assignments to make sure that the students really carry out this assignment which are indeed amongst other things halved towards suitable utilization of leisure time.
I wish to recommend also that students should be encouraged to form and become members of useful class in school or community. This would be adequate redirection endeavours. If these recommendations are followed to the latter we can say that we are facing the drug problem realistically.
SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
This research work only dealt with drug as it affects students between the age bracket of 13-22 years in secondary schools. In this height, opinion and ideals of students in tertiary institutions were not involved, therefore this aspect can serve as a good basis for further research work which will then go into detail study of the drug abuse pattern of students within the age bracket of 20-25. Indeed, this age is the most vulnerable and susceptible to drug abuse. Therefore, the realization of the dream to make Nigeria drug free nation depends on this age groups.
REFERENCES
- Dota Cluzea (1999). “Drug abuse” Thursdays daily times. April 25th pp 7.
- Olatawura (1974). ‘The prevalence of drug taking among secondary school students. A pilot study. Pp. 1-35.
- Pela, O. A. (1982). Dynamics of drug use in Nigeria, A handbook of the Nigeria training course on drug dependence, Benin City. Pp. 66-122
- Smith, E. (1969). “Methamphetamine abuse” International Journal of addiction.
- Uduehi, c. O. (1982). An overview of drug use and misuse in Nigeria school. Health Journal. Vol.4, No. 1, pp 22-29.
- Uzorka, A. F. (1980). Drug abuser (Benin) March 18th.
- Uzorka, F. (1983). Drug dependence volume 1. 1983, Benin City.
