Correlates and Modalities of Tackling Substance Abuse Among Tertiary and Secondary School Students in Bayelsa State

Substance abuse is common among teens and young adults.It has become a public health problem in Nigeria and other parts of the world.This study aimed to determine the correlates and possible modalities of tackling substance abuse among tertiary and secondary school students in Bayelsa State of Nigeria.The study is a descriptive correlational cross-sectional study.The sampling technique used was simple random sampling.A sampling frame was made for six faculties in Niger Delta University.Likewise, this was done for the different classes in the Secondary School from junior secondary two to senior secondary three.The sample size for this study was 308 for secondary school and 384 for tertiary school.A structured questionnaire was used to collect participants' data.A total of 68.4% of males and 31.6%female participated in the study.Peer pressure, early drug use, social gatherings, academic failure, low grades, male gender neighbourhood, and low self-esteem were some correlates of substance abuse and inclusion of substance abuse programs in the school curriculum, restricting accessibility to substances of abuse, allowing professionals to handle medicines and introducing appropriate policies to curb the menace of substance abuse as modalities to reduce substance abuse.The institutions were associated with the correlates of substance abuse.