Depression and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Illicit Drug Use Among Secondary School Students in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State

Abstract

The study investigated depression and self-esteem as predictors of illicit drug use among secondary school students in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State. The study employed correlational research design. Two research questions and two corresponding hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study comprised all 14,784 senior secondary school students (SSS 1, 2 and 3) in the 16 public secondary schools in Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers State. A sample of 600 students was selected for the study using the purposive sampling technique. Two instruments were used in collecting data for this study. They include; Psychological Determinants of Illicit Drug Use Questionnaire (PDIDUQ) and Students’ Illicit Drug Use Scale (SIDUS). The Cronbach alpha was used to determine the reliability of the instruments, the reliability coefficient of Psychological Determinants of Illicit Drug Use Questionnaire (PDIDUQ) was 0.83 and Students’ Illicit Drug Use Scale (SIDUS) was 0.74 respectively. Data relating to the research questions were analysed using Mean, Standard Deviation and Simple Regression, while hypotheses were tested with t-test and simple regression at 0.05 level of significance. The finding of the study showed that depression and self-esteem, significantly predict illicit drug use among secondary school students in Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers State. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that school administrators should employ and empower professional guidance counsellors to design and implement effective school-based mental health programmes. These programmes should specifically target early identification and intervention for students exhibiting symptoms of depression and low self-esteem which are precursors to drug involvement.