The Social Construction of Drug/Substance Abuse among Youths in Jos, Nigeria

C.A. Akintunde¹ , E.A. Akintunde² , B.D. Gurumyen³

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.8 , Issue.9 , pp.57-67, Sep-2022

Online published on Sep 30, 2022

Copyright © C.A. Akintunde, E.A. Akintunde, B.D. Gurumyen . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
The use and abuse of drugs by individuals and the far reaching consequences of this maladaptive behaviour is a universal phenomenon. More often than not, the youths of most societies constitute the highest population involved in using and abusing drugs/substances. The social construction of the use and the abuse of drugs/substances by the youths, is vital in determining their behaviour towards it. Having an understanding of how drugs/substances are perceived by youths is a step towards knowing how to tackle the problem. The study investigated the reasons behind youths’ involvement in drug/substance abuse and the consequences of their involvement in Jos South, Plateau State. The social cognitive theory was utilized to understand and explain the social construction of drugs/substance abuse among youths. Employing the qualitative research method, twenty-five (25) participants were purposefully selected, and data was obtained from them through key informant and in-depth interviews. Findings from the study revealed that youths construct the abuse of drugs/substances at two major points and in two major ways; before their experience with drug/substance abuse and after their involvement with drugs/substance abuse. Before their actual experiences, drug/substance abuse was perceived as an activity that came with numerous benefits at a low cost. After their actual experiences however, drug/substance abuse was seen as a behaviour that enslaved the actor and rendered them unproductive to themselves and the society. Permissive culture towards drug/substance use was also identified as a major factor that predisposes youths in Jos South to drug/substance abuse. Proper enlightenment, on the subject of drug/substance use may significantly reduce youths’ involvement in drug/substance abuse, in addition to change or modification of the popular culture of drug/substance use in Jos.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Youths, Drug/substance Abuse, Drug use, Jos, social cognitive theory

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