Childhood Adversity as Predictor of Substance Abuse among Adolescents in Rivers State: Implications for Counselling

The study investigated childhood adversity as a predictor of substance abuse among adolescents in Rivers State. Three research questions were answered while three corresponding null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a correlational research design using a sample of 540 adolescents. Simple random sampling was used to compose the sample. Two instruments titled Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACEIQ) and the Drug Habit Inventory (DHI) were used for data collection. The instruments were face validated by experts in Psychology, Measurement and Evaluation, University of Port Harcourt. The internal consistency reliability coefficients of 0.78 and 0.89 were obtained for Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACEIQ) and Drug Habit Inventory (DHI) respectively using Cronbach alpha. Research questions were answered using simple regression while their corresponding null hypotheses were tested using t-test associated with regression. Findings revealed among others that loss of parents or guardians accounts for 60.9% of substance abuse among adolescents. The implication for counselling was also considered. Therefore, the paper concludes that adolescents who lost their parents or guardian at childhood or experienced parents or guardian neglect are at risk of indulging in substance abuse while adolescents who witnessed household violence are at lower risk of indulging in substance abuse. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that parents should ensure their children’s basic needs are met; adolescents should be encouraged to seek professional support from counsellors or therapists who will provide them with skills and strategies to cope with substance use issues and their emotions in healthier ways.