Determinants of drug abuse among secondary school students in Kenya. A case of Kabuchai sub county.

Abstract

Drug Abuse is turning into a nightmare, that the authorities cannot contain with alcohol, tobacco, miraa and cannabis being the most prevalent, other more addictive drugs such as cocaine and heroin are being introduced and taking root into this trend. The trend seems to suggest that students use drugs other than for medical use. The purpose of the study was to assess the determinants of drug abuse among secondary school students in Kenya. A case of Kabuchai sub county Sub County, with the aim of suggesting extra corrective measures to the vice. Descriptive survey research design was used in conducting this study. The target population for the study was 1,460 students in 12 secondary Schools in the Sub County. A sample size of 146 students (10% of the population), with 75 boys and 62 girl students was selected from the 12 Schools that were selected using purposive sampling .Then using simple random sampling equal number of girls and boys were selected from each School. A student‟s questionnaire was used to collect data. The element of reliability of the measuring instrument was determined using test retest method. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentages and mean values. The study findings were interpreted and discussed. The findings were presented using frequency distribution tables. The show that majority of respondents indicated that most parents are poor role model to their children, also the peer pressure plays a big influence to drug use among the students. Majority of the respondents also agreed that socio-economic factors and cultural practiced determines highly the use of drugs in our secondary school. The study recommends that the parents should have good parenting to their children. It also reminds that sensitization should be done adequately especially through posters in that connection strict policies should be designed to guide drug use. It goes ahead to recommend further studies that should be carried out in areas to improve these findings.