Substance abuse among youth antecedents, consequences, and intention to stop: A case of three towns in Adea Berga Woreda
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Date
2024-04-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Concerning youth substance abuse, particularly in Africa and Ethiopia, was causing
significant challenges for millions worldwide, including Adea Berga Woreda, who has also
faced significant challenges. The aim of this study was to assess substance abuse among
young people and identify its antecedents, consequences, and intention to stop among youths
using substances in the three towns of Adea Berga Woreda. To achieve the objective of the
study, this research adopted a descriptive research design and followed a mixed method of
quantitative and qualitative approaches. In this study, convenience sampling was employed
due to the lack of a complete list of substance abuse-related young people registered in the
three towns other than the total of substance users. The process involved proportionately
allocating the sample size to each town and continuing the sampling until the desired sample
size of 256 was reached. . The necessary data collection and information for the study were
conducted through structured questionnaires, observation, and in-depth interviews. Using
descriptive statistics, the acquired data were analyzed using frequency distributions,
percentages, graphs, and tables. The findings of this study showed that, among young people
in the three towns of Adea Berga Woreda, the most commonly abused substances were
alcohol (33.07%), chewing kchat (24.30%), smoking hashish (19.52%), smoking shisha
(12.35%), cannabis (2.79%), and tobacco/cigarettes (2.39%). The results showed that
alcohol, chewing kchat, and smoking hashish were the most highly abused substances by
young people. The result demonstrates that youth’s main source of money to buy substances
was the job creation office, which organized Dangote cement factories in small cement
enterprises, earning enough money in their pockets every month without work. The main
reasons participants increased substance use in the towns were Adea Berga Woreda's cement
industries, the opportunity for young people organized in Dangote cement factories by small
cement enterprises, earning enough money in their pockets every month without work, peer
pressure, drug accessibility, poor parental supervision, and a lack of local police. According
to the study, the majority of respondents to the in-depth interview stressed that the main
consequences encountered by young people who abuse substances were various societal
issues, impairments in physical well-being, and psychological, social, and behavioral
problems. This study indicates that a significant proportion of youths expressed a high
intention to quit substance abuse, indicating their awareness of the harmful effects of
substance abuse and their desire to change their behavior. Based on the findings of the study,
some possible recommendations were made for family, government, and the researcher.
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Keywords
Substance abuse among youth antecedents, Concerning youth substance abuse