Knowledge of Hard Drugs and Attitudinal Disposition of Youths in Curbing Hard Drugs in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria

Immaculata Etim Bassey¹, Idode Mercy¹, Elizabeth Edem Okon¹, Bassey Emmanuel Etim², Gift Mbah³ and Effiom John Edwin^4,

¹Department of Nursing science, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Igbinedion University, Okada

²Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Emergency Medicine, Whiston Hospital, Prescot, United Kingdom

³Memorial University of Newfoundland

⁴Department of Social Science Education, Faculty of Arts and Social Science Education, University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria

Cite this paper:
Immaculata Etim Bassey, Idode Mercy, Elizabeth Edem Okon, Bassey Emmanuel Etim, Gift Mbah and Effiom John Edwin. Knowledge of Hard Drugs and Attitudinal Disposition of Youths in Curbing Hard Drugs in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. American Journal of Nursing Research. 2023; 11(3):118-125. doi: 10.12691/ajnr-11-3-3

Abstract

Herbs, leaves, and other plants have been used to treat and prevent ailments since ancient times. Since medications can be used to cure illnesses and diseases when properly delivered, using them does not present any threat in and of itself. Most individuals today, especially young people, abuse drugs by taking them illegally, and they don't just use them to treat illnesses; they also use them for other purposes. The purpose of this study was to assess youths' attitudes towards hard drugs and their knowledge of them in Calabar South Local Government Area in Cross River State, Nigeria. The study had two explicit goals: to accomplish its goal and to do so. One statement of hypothesis was created from a pair of research questions. Based on the variable under investigation, a literature review was conducted. The descriptive survey research design was deemed to be the most appropriate for the investigation. According to the National Population Commission's predicted population for 2022, 124,204 people made up the study's population. The study employed an accidental sampling technique, and the 399 respondents who participated in the sample were chosen using Taro Yamen's 1975 formula. Data were gathered using a validated 10-item, 4-point modified Likert scale questionnaire. Test and measurement specialists determined the instrument's face and content validity. After applying spearman-Brown correlation, the reliability estimates of 0.82 for the instruments were established using the split-half approach. The research questions were tested using a descriptive analysis of frequency, percentages, mean, and standard deviation, and the study's hypotheses were tested using Pearson's product moment correlation. The hypothesis was investigated at a significance level of 0.05. Results: The data analysis showed a substantial correlation between youths' attitudes towards hard drugs in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria, and their awareness of these substances. According to the study's findings, there is a substantial correlation between adolescents' attitudes towards hard drugs and their awareness of them in the Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. As a result, it was suggested that policymakers, among other things, develop and coordinate resources for young people and individuals who experience behavioural issues.

Keywords:
knowledge attitude youths drugs

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Gebreslassie, M., Feleke, A., & Melese, T. (2019). Psychoactive substances use and associated factors among Axum university students, Axum Town, North Ethiopia. BMC Public Health, 13(1).
[2]	Possi, M. K. (2018). Effects of use of hard drugs on cognitive and social behaviors: A potential problem among youth in Tanzania. Utafiti Journal, 3(1), 2-9.
[3]	Kingsbury, P., Andrews, G. J., & Kearns, R. (Eds.). (2016). Soundscapes of wellbeing in popular music. (17-36): Routledge
[4]	Burns, L. (2014). World Drug Report 2013 By United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime New York: United Nations, 2013 ISBN: 978‐92 1 056168 6, 151. Grey literature. Drug and alcohol review, 33(2), 216-216.
[5]	Jalilian, F., Karami, M. B., Ahmadpanah, M., Ataee, M., Ahmadi, J. T., Eslami, A. A., & MIRZAEI, A. M. (2015). Socio-demographic characteristics associated with cigarettes smoking, use of hard drugs and alcohol drinking among male medical university students in Iran.
[6]	Weiss, N. & Moore, D. (2015). Alcohol in the European Region - consumption, harm and policies. Copenhagen: WHO - Regional Office for Europe.
[7]	Jess, T. (2020). The AACODS checklist. Available at: https://dspace.flinders.edu.au/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2328/3326/AACODS_Checklist.pdf?sequence=4.
[8]	Ohuabunwa S. I. (2019). Tackling the menace of use of hard drugs: a disruptive innovative approach. Available at: https://psnnational.org/index.php/2019/08/01/association-of-community-pharmacists-of-nigeria-acpn-bational-conference-holding-in-kano-state-june-1-4-2019/.
[9]	Obot, I. S. (2019). The Linkage between licit drugs and HIV/AIDS. Conflict and their impact on Socio-economic development in Africa. Background paper commissioned by the Drug Control Focal Point, ESCAS Department. Addis Ababa Ethiopia: Organisation of Africa Unity.
[10]	Williams, R. (2014). Attitudes. Lecture notes Adapted from Liska; Handbook of Social Psychology [The cognitive perspective]; Michener et al; Myers; Social Psychology, edited by Arnold Kahn; “A new look at dissonance theory;” Ajzen and Fishbein piece in Contemporary Issues in Social Psychology; Rich Williams's dissertation. Retrieved from https://www3.nd.edu/~rwilliam/xsoc530/attitudes.htm/.
[11]	Simonson, S. & Maushak, D. (2011). A Vygotskian sociocultural perspective on immersion education. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 1(1), 101–129.
[12]	Young, J. (2017). Deviance. In P. Worsley (Ed.), The new introducing sociology (407-450). (3rd ed.). Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin.
[13]	The Guardian Newspaper (2021, Novermber 25). Mkpuru mmiri destroying the Southeast youths in Nigeria. P. 11.
[14]	Vanguard Newspaper. (2021, November 29). Methamphetamine hydrochloride (Mkpuru Mmiri) killing the future of youths in the Southeast. P.8.
[15]	Adogu, P., Njelita, I., Egenti, B. N. & Ubajaka, C. P. (2015). Awareness, knowledge, perception and attitude towards prescription medicines abuse among medicines prescribers and dispensers in Nnewi Nigeria. Pharmacology and Pharmacy, 6(5), 254-266.
[16]	Yusuf, F. A. & Okanlawon, E. A. (2019). Assessment of secondary school students’ knowledge and attitude towards drug abuse: implications for counselling. Educational Journal of the University of Patras UNESCO Chair, 6(2), 156-167.
[17]	Fayombo, G. A., & Aremu, S. (2020) Drug education and its effects on the educational Performance of some adolescents’ drug abusers in Ibadan. The Counsellor, drug abusers in Ibadan. The Counsellor, 18(5), 378-387.
[18]	Fatoye, F. O., & Morakinyo, O. (2012). Substance use among secondary school students in rural and urban communities in South Western Nigeria. East African Medical Journal, 79, 299-305.
[19]	Oshodi, O. Y., Aina. O., F., & Onajole. A. T. (2020). Substance use among secondary school Students in urban setting in Nigeria: Prevalence and associated factors. African Journal of Psychiatry, 13, 52-57.
[20]	Kaime-Atterhog, W., & Ahlberg B. M. (2018). Are street children beyond rehabilitation? Understanding the life situation of street boys through ethnographic methods in Nakuru, Kenya. Children and Youth Services Review, 30(12), 1345-1354.
[21]	Gajalakshmi, V., Asma, S., & Warren, C. W. (2014). Tobacco survey among youth in South India. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 5, 273-278.