ABSTRACT
Background: Psychoactive substances are substances that when taken in or administered into one’s system affect mental processes, e.g perception, consciousness, cognition or mood and emotions. This problem is on the rise within universities, particularly affecting students education, health, and overall well-being. The psychoactive substances commonly used include Alcohol, Caffeine, Marijuana, and certain pain killers. This study examine the extent of psychoactive substance use among Social Science undergraduate students at University of Benin, Benin-City and suggested practical solutions to address the issue. Objectives: This study assessed students knowledge, the most used, possibles reasons and preventive measures on the use of psychoactive substances among students. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was done using a self administered questionnaire. A sample size of 350 was used in the study from 5000 undergraduate social science students. Informations obtained include socio-demographic data, knowledge of psychoactive substance, factors that affect the use of psychoactive substance, possible ways of preventing psychoactive substance abuse. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences(version 21).
Results:. The modal age of the respondents was 20-24 years. The proportion of male and female students was 36% and 64% respectively. The most frequently consumed substance by the students was alcohol(56.6%) followed by caffeine (38.5%),Cocaine (2%),Marijuana and Tobacco(1%). Students that reported to have never used psychoactive substances were 47.4% while 30.9% reported occasional use. The reason for usage was mostly for stress and relaxation (35.9%), 24.9% reported using them for social experiences, 19.8% reported using them to enhance academic performance,10.6% reported using them to cope with emotional and mental health issues and 1.8% reported using them to fit in with peers. Majority (61.7%) of the respondents reported that the university should implement a mandatory drug testing for students while a good number were not certain whether the university should implement mandatory drug tests. Majority of the respondents reported counseling services (26.8%) and Educational campaign (22.9%) as possible ways of preventing psychoactive substance abuse. Conclusion: Alcohol and Caffeine were the most used psychoactive substance among Social Science undergraduate students, University of Benin. The students mainly used the psychoactive active substance to relieve stress and to relax. Counseling services was the most effective preventive strategy for psychoactive substance abuse.
