Abstract

Background: The use of drug has now become a global threat to humanity caused by it excessive use especially among young people. This abuse has been manifested by students in several forms as today, it stands as one of the leading factor and main cause of juvenile delinquencies, violence, and fighting among person, and public manifestations are considered as a major factor of a societal mishap.

Drug consumption among the youth in Cameroon has become not only a security issue, but also a major health problem. According to the latest WHO data available in 2018, drug abuse in Cameroon caused 0.32% of total deaths, making the country 16th in the world. The study was to investigate the different types of substances abuse and their perceived effects in some selected secondary schools in Douala-Bonaberi.

Method: This study was a school base descriptive cross-sectional study design. Data was collected using open and close ended questionnaires from participants. A multi-stage sampling method was used and a sample size of 200 participants was employed.

Ethical Clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the Faculty of Health Science (IRBFHS), Administrative Authorization was obtained from the Littoral Regional Delegation of Health, from the Principals and students.

Results: The results showed that 112(78.47%) did not use drugs unlike 30(20.83%) who indicated that they have used drugs. The results also showed 58(40.44%) indicated that they were influence by peers. Also, 43(30.30%) indicated that the lack of concentration was one of the perceived effect of drop in academic performance. Factors associated to drug abuse in the multivariate logistic regression analysis, only parental employment status was found significantly associated to abusing drugs was 0.32 (95% CI: 0.124-0.842, p=0.02) times lower than the odds of a student whose parents were unemployed abusing drugs. The strategies used to curb showed that 46(31.97%) indicated counseling as the best drug preventive method

Conclusion: The key findings from the study were that drug abuse among students is common. Types of commonly abused drugs are marijuana, tramadol, and diazepam. A variety of factors contribute to substance use with the majority of students citing peer influence, and having a lot of pocket money. Proposed preventive strategies schools and parents can use to curb substance abuse.

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