SUBSTANCE USE IN THE HOME AS PREDICTOR OF AGGRESSION AND DRUG ABUSE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

Substance use in the home is an issue that has impacted society in a variety of ways. There are parents who abuse various types of substances like opioids, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and tobacco. These drugs have very devastating effects on family members. Children who are raised in homes where one or both parents’ abuse drugs are often introduced to drugs and eventually become dependent on them later in life. Many of these children are neglected and poorly trained because their parents lack the physical resources and moral capacity to enforce discipline. Children who live in homes where substances are used go on to become aggressive and dependent on drugs. This study included a sample of 800 secondary students in Rivers State. This correlational study measured Substance use in the home using the Substance Use in the Home Scale (SUHS), aggression using the Behaviour Problems Checklist (BPC), and drug abuse using the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10). The data was analysed using linear and multiple regression. The outcomes of the study revealed that substance use in the home significantly predicts aggression and drug abuse among secondary school students in Rivers State. It is recommended that parents be taught about the impact their use of substances in the home has on their children and be helped to be rehabilitated. Also, children who have anger problems and aggression should be taught anger management. Adolescents who have been identified as being dependent on substances need to be retrained and restored.