RESEARCH ARTICLE


Substance Use and Associated Factors Among in-school Adolescents in South Africa



Aram Khoza1
iD
, Hilda N. Shilubane2, *
iD

1 Department of Public Health, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa
2 Department of Advanced Nursing Science, University of Venda, South Africa


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Creative Commons License
© 2021 Khoza and Shilubane

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Advanced Nursing Science, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa; Tel:+27 82 536 7441; E-mail: hilda.shilubane@univen.ac.za


Abstract

Background:

Substance use is a significant public health problem worldwide and adversely affects the education system because learners who use substances display behaviours that negatively influence the quality of learning and teaching. The study aimed to determine the educator’s knowledge of the factors contributing to substance use among secondary school learners in the Greater Giyani municipality.

Methods:

The study employed a descriptive research design, and purposive sampling was applied to select the participants. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire, and data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 programme.

Results:

The findings show good financial background (69%), more pocket money (67%), high financial difficulties (67%), availability and accessibility of substances (51%), and psychological factors (low self-esteem, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder) as contributing to learners’ involvement in substance use.

Conclusion:

Substance use is a matter of serious concern in secondary schools, and several factors are believed to be perpetuating the behaviour. The government should put strict measures in place to ensure the appropriate use of marijuana and for the purpose indicated. Teachers’ inadequate knowledge of contributory factors to substance use by learners could mean that they could not educate them about substance-related harm.

Keywords: Adolescents, Educators, Factors, Knowledge, Narcotics, Alcohol.