Substance use among school-going adolescents and young adults in rural Mpumalanga province, South Africa

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Authors

Mmethi, Tabeho Godfrey
Modjadji, Perpetua
Mathibe, Mmampedi
Thovhogi, Ntevhe
Sekgala, Machoene Derrick
Madiba, Thomas Khomotjo
Ayo-Yusuf, Olalekan Abdulwahab

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

MDPI

Abstract

The ongoing public health crisis of substance use among school adolescents and young adults (AYAs) in South Africa is not new in research parlance, amidst the national policy of drug abuse management in schools. In view of no tangible progress to reduce substance use in high schools in the country, we conducted a cross-sectional quantitative study aimed at investigating substance use among adolescents and young adults in the four public high schools selected through multistage sampling in rural Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Data on substance use, demographics, household socio-demographics, and related factors were collected via a validated self-administered questionnaire. Hierarchical logistic regression was performed using STATA 18. The study included 402 AYAs aged between 14 and 23 years (18 ± 1 years), and 45% reported substance use in the last twelve months. Alcohol was the most used substance (74%), followed by cigarettes (12%) and cannabis (11%). AYAs used substances out of social influence, curiosity, to find joy, and to eliminate stress, especially in social events, on the streets, and at home, and reported negative physical health outcomes, mainly hallucinations, sleeping disorders, body weakness, and dry mouths. Hierarchical logistic regression showed that the likelihood of substance use was three times in a particular high school (S4) (AOR = 3.93, 95%CI: 1.72–8.99), twice among the grade 12s (AOR = 2.73, 95%CI: 1.46–5.11), over twenty times in the communities with substance availability (AOR = 22.45, 95%CI: 2.75–183.56), almost ten times among AYAs participating in recreational/sports activities (AOR = 9.74, 95%CI: 4.21–22.52), and twice likely to happen in larger households (AOR = 2.96, 95%CI: 1.57–5.58). Prevention and intervention efforts should consider these specific health concerns to develop targeted strategies for mitigating substance use and its adverse consequences in this vulnerable population towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal Target 3.5, which aims to strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and the harmful use of alcohol.

Description

DATA AVAILABITY STATEMENT: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Keywords

Substance use, High schools, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, SDG-03: Good health and well-being, SDG-04: Quality education, Adolescents, Young adults

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG-03:Good heatlh and well-being
SDG-04:Quality Education

Citation

Mmethi, T.G.; Modjadji, P.; Mathibe, M.; Thovhogi, N.; Sekgala, M.D.; Madiba, T.K.; Ayo-Yusuf, O. Substance Use among School-Going Adolescents and Young Adults in Rural Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Behavioral Sciences 2024, 14, 543. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14070543.