ASSESSMENT OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE KNOWLEDGE AND REFUSAL SKILLS ABILITY AMONG NEWLY ADMITTED UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, NIGERIA

Abstract

The transition from secondary school to university marks a critical period in a student’s life as a result of exposures to new environments, and experiences outside the watch of parents including early independence and attachment to peer and friends as a stop gap. Based on these challenges being faced constantly by undergraduates, there is an increased likelihood of engaging in risky behaviours such as substance abuse. This study therefore aimed to assess the level of knowledge of substance abuse, and refusal skill ability among the newly admitted undergraduates in the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Using a descriptive research design, data was collected from a randomly selected 1200 sample of first-year university students across different academic disciplines. A validated and pretested self-structured questionnaire was administered to the participants. The results obtained revealed knowledge gaps in areas related to the potential consequences and the harmful effects associated with the use of substances, as well as the effects and workings of psychoactive substances on the brain. Lack of refusal skills ability was also discovered to be significant in the study with a significant number of the participants indicating their needs for a comprehensive drug education. Therefore, this study concluded that substance abuse knowledge and refusal skills ability are crucial components in the prevention of substance abuse among the young ones, and should be adequately developed through a comprehensive health education program among newly admitted undergraduates of various institutions to promote a safe and substance abuse free campus environment.