Effect of Psychodynamic Therapy on Substance Abuse of Upper Basic School Students in Taraba State, Nigeria

Substance abuse among adolescents remains a major public health and educational concern, often associated with maladaptive behaviours such as truancy and poor academic performance. Psychodynamic therapy, which explores unconscious motivations and emotional conflicts, has been proposed as a potential intervention strategy. This study examined the effect of psychodynamic therapy on substance abuse behaviour among Upper Basic School students in Taraba State, Nigeria. The study employed a quasi-experimental design. The target population consisted of 28,182 Upper Basic School students, while a purposive sample of 30 students (both male and female) who exhibited truancy and substance abuse behaviourswas selected. Data were collected using a 20-item Substance Abuse Questionnaire (SAQ). The instrument’s reliability was established through a test–retest method, yielding a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0.88. Face and content validity were confirmed by experts from the Departments of Guidance and Counselling, and Measurement and Evaluation, Faculty of Education, Taraba State University, Jalingo. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions, while a paired sample <i>t</i>-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that psychodynamic therapy had a statistically significant effect on reducing substance abuse behaviour among Upper Basic School students in Taraba State. However, no significant difference was found in the effect of the therapy between male and female students, indicating that both genders benefited equally from the intervention. Psychodynamic therapy was found to be an effective intervention for reducing substance abuse behaviour among Upper Basic School students. The study recommends that counsellors, psychologists, and related practitioners adopt psychodynamic therapy as an intervention technique to help young people overcome maladaptive behaviours such as substance abuse, thereby enhancing their personal and social adjustment.