Chinwe Ezeuigbo
Adolescent substance use has become increasingly recognized with its associated range of health, educational, developmental, social risks and problems. These problems include delinquency, poor scholastic attainment, and suicide all over the world (Mason, 2011; Flemming, Moselen, Clark, & Dixon, 2014; National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2014; U.S Surgeon General's Report, 2015 and WHO, 2019). In response to the problems generated by substance use, many interventions have been implemented for curbing substance use, abuse and r e l a p s e amo n g a d o l e s c e n t s. Amo n g s u c h interventions is psychoeducation which has been empirically reported for substance use prevention among adolescents (Acas & Buldukoglu, 2004; Pasche & Myers, 2012; Babalola, Akinhanmi & Ogunwale, 2014 and U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2019). Substances also known as drugs are psychoactive agents that alter the perception, cognition, mood, behaviour and the general mental functioning of organisms, especially humans. Based on the different ways in which these agents affect the brain, psychoactive substances can be divided into four main groups depressants (e.g. alcohol and sedatives), stimulants (e.g., nicotine and ecstasy), opioids (such as morphin and heroin), and hallucinogens. Despite vast differences in their actions, all of them affect regions of the brain involved in motivation, which play a role in drug dependence. The prevalence and pattern of psychoactive substance use in the world vary considerably from region to region and from one nation to the other. Several authors report that substance use is common among adolescents and the prevalence is high in both developed and developing nations alike (Awosusi & Adegboyega, 2013; National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2014). The report from the 2013 National survey on drug use and health- USA (NSDUH) reported that an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged 12years or older were current illicit drug users, meaning they had used drugs forbidden by law during the month prior to the survey conducted. This estimate represents 9.4 percent of the population aged 12 years or older. The NSDUH further reported that these forbidden drugs (illicit drugs) used by the population include marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants. Prescription-type psychotherapeutics used without prescription include pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives (SAMHSA, 2014). Further analysis showed that the rate of current substance uses among persons aged 12 or older in 2013 (9.4%) in the USA was similar to the rates in 2010 (8.9%) and 2012 (9.2%). It was also reported that the rate was higher than the rates in 2002 to 2009 and in 2011 when the range was from 7.9 to 8.7%. Similarly, the report show that more than half (52.2%) of Americans aged 12 or older reported to be current takers of alcohol in the 2013 survey which was similar to the rate in 2012 (52.1%). This translates to an estimated 136.9 million current alcohol user in 2013 in America. In Hong Kong, the result of the latest prevalence study of drug-use among students was alarming. According to Hong Kong Narcotics Division (2010), the percentage of life time drug-taking secondary students rose from 3.3% in 2004/05 to 4.3% in 2008/09. The age of students starting to take drugs has become younger for those aged 12 or below, there was a close to double increase in drug prevalence of 2.4% in 2004/05 to 4.6% in 2008/09. Also, the number of daily drug taking secondary school students' shows more frequent drug use which has doubled from 0.8% in 2004/05 to 1.5% in 2008/09. In the same study, analysis with over 2,700 senior primary school students aged 10 to 12 in 37 primary schools in Hong Kong further indicated that over 20% of these children assumed quite an accommodating attitude to drug taking. A look at the prevalence of substance use in Africa, suggests that substance use is a daily reality among adolescents and the youth. In Rwanda, the prevalence rate of substance use over the month prior to a national survey was 34% for alcohol, 8.5% for tobacco smoking, 2.7% for cannabis, 0.2% for glue and 0.1% for drugs such as diazepam. 7.46% (one in thirteen) of the youth was estimated to be alcohol dependent, 4.88% (one in twenty) were nicotine dependent, and 2.54% (one in forty)