| dc.description.abstract | Drug abuse is becoming an increasing problem in Kenya. A number of studies carried out
in the country show that almost every Kenyan youngster at one time or another
experiments with drugs, especially beer and cigarettes. The major cause of concern is that
a significant proportion of these young people eventually get addicted posing a threat to
their own health and safety, while creating difficulties for their families and the public at
large into difficulties. This study sought to establish the extent of drug and substance
abuse in secondary schools in Kenya, and to analyze the strategies used to address the
problem. The ultimate aim was to propose a programme for prevention and intervention.
The study is a descriptive survey. In view of this, the field survey method was adopted to
collect quantitative data, using questionnaires and interviews. Quantitative approaches
were used in data analysis, inferential statistics such as Pearson Product Moment
correlation. The analysis of structured items was mainly done using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
The key findings from the study were that drug abuse among students is common; both
boys and girls have abused drugs with the majority being in boys?± schools; the greatest
ratio of drug abusers to non-abusers among the sampled schools are aged between 16 and
18 years; there is a significant relationship between drug abuse and age, use of drugs by
other family members and easy access to drugs. A variety of factors contribute to drug
abuse with the majority of students citing curiosity, acceptance by peers and ignorance as
to the dangers of drug abuse and having a lot of pocket money as the main reasons. Both
the school administrators and teachers face a number of challenges in attempting to curb
drug abuse in schools.
The study makes a number of recommendations for policy and further research. A
number of guidelines are proposed for developing a programme for prevention and
intervention | |
