Drugs and Substance Abuse among the Secondary School Students in Korogocho: Implications for Behaviour and Performance

Abstract

Globally, Drugs and substance abuse continues to be a challenge, especially among the youth in school and out of school. It impacts negatively on the academic, social psychological and physical development among the abusers. This paper examines the effects of drugs and substance abuse on social conduct and academic performance among the students as well as the mitigating measures. It is based on a study carried out at Korogocho slums. A total of 102 students and 15 key informants were sampled.  Questionnaire and interview guide were used to collect data. The study revealed that marijuana, miraa, alcohol and cigarettes are the most abused drugs by secondary school students and had eroded the core values hence affecting their social skills development and academic performance. The study concluded that slum life, peer pressure, congestion as well as poverty are the recipe to drug and substance abuse among students. The study recommends increased public awareness campaigns on dangers posed by drug and substance abuse involving media, civic education and all the stakeholders; and proper policy formulation and implementation.