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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

SO232

Substance use and associated psychosocial factors among high-school-aged adolescents in Nigeria

SUBSTANCE USE AMONG ADOLESCENT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NIGERIA AND ITS PSYCHOSOCIAL CORRELATES

Lifetime substance use among adolescents was found to be 17.3%, and current use was 11.7%; substance use was closely associated with both psychological distress and factors related to the family environment.

The study aimed to examine patterns of substance use and their association with psychosocial factors among high school students in Ado-Ekiti, southwestern Nigeria. This cross-sectional study, conducted in five public high schools using cluster sampling and simple sampling, enrolled 694 students, with data from 682 analyzed. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10), and an adapted NIDA-Modified ASSIST were used, and chi-square tests, odds ratios, and multiple logistic regression were applied. Lifetime substance use was 17.3% (95% CI 14.7–20.5), and current use was 11.7% (95% CI 9.0–14.0). The most commonly used substances, with lifetime and current use rates respectively, were alcohol (13.6% and 8.9%), tramadol (3.8% and 2.6%), tobacco (3.2% and 2.5%), cannabis (2.2% and 2.2%), codeine (1.8% and 1.5%), and sedatives/hypnotics (1.3% and 1.2%). Significant psychological distress was identified in 26.0% of participants, with severity classified as mild in 11.3%, moderate in 6.0%, and severe in 8.7%. The risk of psychological distress was higher with lifetime substance use (AOR = 3.03; 95% CI 1.19–7.72; p = 0.020) and the absence of direct parental care (AOR = 2.04; 95% CI 1.19–3.48; p = 0.009). The risk of substance use was higher among males (AOR = 2.97; 95% CI 1.82–4.83; p = 0.001) and those whose parents used substances (AOR = 3.48; 95% CI 1.57–7.69; p = 0.002), while having married parents (AOR = 0.50; 95% CI 0.27–0.92; p = 0.027) and living with parents (AOR = 0.39; 95% CI 0.20–0.75; p = 0.005) were found to be protective. The authors recommend early substance use education beginning in primary school, strengthening family cohesion, and broad-based prevention programs that support mental well-being.

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