Knowledge of Drug Abuse among Students of Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education Owerri, Nigeria

Abstract

Drug abuse is the indiscriminate use of any substance which is capable of modifying the chemistry of the human body. Its consequences on the physical, social and psychological dispositions of humans cannot be over emphasized. The study investigated the knowledge of drug abuse among students of Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education Owerri, Nigeria. The survey research design was adopted, and the sample size consisted of 500 students drawn using the multi stage sampling technique. Data were collected using validated questionnaires, and analyzed using the descriptive statistics of frequencies, means, and percentages. Results showed that 74.8% of the students were not knowledgeable of the intellectual effects of drug abuse; while 54.2% had knowledge of the social effects of drug abuse; 54% recognized cough syrup as the most abused drug, while 79.4% of the students had knowledge of the possible ways of reducing the problems of drug abuse.