Substance use among youths: A social work perspective on rehabilitation and support

This study examined the prevalence, psychosocial impacts, and rehabilitation outcomes of psychoactive substance use among youths in Rivers State, Nigeria with a view of the role of social work. A quantitative descriptive research design was employed, using a programmatic dataset representing 312 youths sampled across Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor LGAs. Data were collected on a 4-point Likert scale and analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, and paired-samples t-tests, with benchmarks for prevalence, intervention success, and relapse protection. Findings revealed a high prevalence of psychoactive substance use among youths (M = 3.15), consistent with national patterns of increasing drug experimentation. Substance users reported significantly lower psychosocial wellbeing than non-users, underscoring the psychosocial costs of drug use. Social work interventions counselling, family therapy, and community programs proved highly effective in reducing substance use, with post-intervention scores showing meaningful declines. Furthermore, family support and school engagement emerged as protective factors against relapse, with strong ties significantly lowering recurrence rates compared to weak support. The study concludes that youth substance use is not merely an individual health problem but a systemic social challenge shaped by family, school, and community contexts. Effective rehabilitation therefore requires holistic, multi-level interventions integrating counselling, family engagement, and community participation. Recommendations include; scaling up community-based prevention programs; integrating psychosocial counselling into rehabilitation; expanding evidence-based social work interventions such as CBT and SBIRT across schools and health centers; and institutionalizing structured aftercare programs that involve families, schools, and peer-support networks to ensure sustainable recovery.