Substance Use among Students of a Second Cycle Institution in Accra

Abstract

Background: Adolescent substance use is the largest preventable and most costly public health problem facing mankind today. There is evidence that students start using psychoactive substances at earlier ages than in the past. This study sought to explore substances commonly used by students of Holy Trinity Cathedral Senior High School in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study which employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches in collecting data. Structured questionnaires were used to collect the quantitative data and analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Focus group discussions were used to collect the qualitative data, which was analysed thematically. Results: Substances commonly used by students or people they know were found to be alcohol and tobacco. Majority of the students indicated that friends introduced them to substance use. From the focus group discussions, factors like peer influence, poverty and other emotional issues like depression influenced substance use. Conclusion: Students agreed that substance use make people violent most often, and become an embarrassment and disappointment to the family and the community as a whole.