Effect of Socio-Economic Factors and Drug Abuse Among the Youths in Industrial Division, Mbale City
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Date
2024-07-16
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Uganda Christian University
Abstract
Despite of the existing legal and policy frameworks against drug and substance abuse, drug abuse among youth has reached uncontrollable levels. This study therefore assessed the effect of socio-economic factors on drug abuse among the youths in industrial division of Mbale City of Eastern Uganda. Specifically, the study assessed the effect of gender roles and poverty on drug abuse among the youths in Industrial division of Mbale City. It also investigated the effect of parenting on drug abuse among the youths in Industrial division of Mbale City. The study used cross-sectional study with the help of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data was collected from 80 respondents in Industrial division using a semi structured questionnaire and interview guide. Purposive sampling technique was used to select research participants and data analysis was done using tables. The study found that the prevalence of casual drug use is roughly equivalent for boys and girls and male adolescents have traditionally been identified as heavier and more frequent users of drugs than females. Gender norms are also known to affect alcohol use where men have been identified as exhibiting traits like assertiveness, instrumentality, and aggressiveness, and women as manifesting expressive traits and peer drug use has been shown to influence adolescents' drug use among boys in combination with other factors such as residing in rural communities, having lower self esteem, low socioeconomic status, and having alcoholism in their families. Youths who adopt the gender role orientation stereotypically assigned to the opposite sex would be expected to abuse drugs if they have adopted masculine attributes, and vice versa. Also findings show that poverty increases feelings of hopeless which may lead to drug use and the problem drug users are more likely to have suffered difficult childhoods and often experienced being taken into care or excluded from school. Those youths without work are most likely to take heroin and those who are more affluent have more social and economic ‘capital’ and are better able to protect themselves from these forces of drug addiction. Youths who are most at risk of developing problem drug use are those who are at the margins of society. Other findings reveal that this means that bad parenting styles results into bad behaviours of children including drugs and substance abuse and youths are more likely not to use drugs when they feel their parents have authoritative styles, parents who monitor their children may prevent them from engaging in drug use. A parent with excellent parenting practices may increase resiliency in her adolescent son or daughter by instilling appropriate values and norms regarding conventional behavior and one of the factors that may promote successful adjustment in youths is good parenting; including close parental monitoring. Frequent communication about important issues, and regular daily involvement and interaction between parent and their children and bad parenting styles results into bad behaviours of children including drugs and substance abuse. The researcher recommended implementation socio-economic recovery programs for families and pass legislation and polices against drug and substance abuse.