Effect of Drug Abuse and Health Risks Among Undergraduates of Federal Universities in Nigeria

OBJECTIVE- The study investigated the effect of drug abuse and health risks among undergraduates of Federal Universities in Nigerian. METHODS- The study adopted a descriptive research design. The sample of the study consisted of four hundred and fifty-eight (458) undergraduates. The study adopted structured questionnaire. Cronbach Alpha Reliability Co-efficient was used to determine the instruments which yielded reliability coefficients of 0.78. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The questionnaire items were drawn and coded on a 4-point scale- Strongly Agree -4 points, Agree -3 points, Disagree -2 points, and Strongly Disagree -1 point. These responses were based on positively worded items while reverse was for the negatively worded items. The average score from coded data (4+3+2+1 =10/4) was 2.50. RESULTS- The findings of the study indicated that health risks of drug abuse can leads to drug addiction, hepatitis, HIV/AIDs, cancer or mental illness, heart or lung disease, heart attack, communicable diseases, brain damages, mental confusion, depression and suicidal thoughts or attempt to commit suicide. The findings also revealed that risks factors of drugs abuse among undergraduates includes influence of peer pressure, lack of basic knowledge about the dangers of drugs, lack of parental supervision, poor relationship with parents and poor achievement in school. CONCLUSION- In view of the above findings, it is concluded that there should be an intense media campaign aimed at enlightening the undergraduates and indeed Nigerians at large on the dangers and consequences of drug abuse and the health risks.