Parenting and School Context Differentiate Nigerian Adolescents’ Profiles of Substance Use

Abstract

Abstract. Substance use among Nigerian adolescents has increased significantly in the past decade, highlighting the need to implement evidence-based, effective prevention programs as one strategy to help reverse this trend. This study aimed to identify profiles of adolescent substance use and parenting and school correlates of these profiles to inform preventive interventions. Latent class analysis identified four distinct use patterns in 2,004 adolescents (46% male; M = 14.8 years) attending public and private schools in Lagos. Low levels of use distinguished the Low Use class (92.1% of the sample), while use of alcohol, cigarettes, and codeine defined the Alcohol Use class (2.9%). Moderate to high use of tramadol and codeine without a prescription differentiated the Nonmedical Use class (2.8%), and high use of most substances defined the High Use class (2.1%). Males, older youth, and private school students engaged in the riskiest substance use. Students in the Low Use class compared to students in the High Use class were more likely to attend public schools and had parents who solicited less information from them but were more disapproving of substance use. Students in the Low Use class relative to students in the Alcohol Use class also were more likely to attend public schools and had parents who solicited less information but knew more about their child’s activities. These findings suggest that tailored preventive interventions with parents and adolescents could be useful and that more research is needed to understand how the private school context confers risk for substance use.

Parenting and other potential protective factors associated with polysubstance use among public school students in Lagos, Nigeria

“…Reports from Nigeria indicate on‐going concerns regarding adolescents' use of alcohol and other drugs, including misuse of over‐the‐counter (OTC) and prescription medications (Agwogie et al, 2022; Mehanovic et al, 2020; Obadeji et al, 2020; Vigna‐Taglianti et al, 2019). For example, non‐medical use of codeine and tramadol has been on the rise among adolescents and young adults in Nigeria (Mehanovic et al, 2020; Vigna‐Taglianti et al, 2019).…”

“…Many studies of parental and family influences on adolescent substance use in Nigeria have focused on risk factors such as parental substance use (Mehanovic et al, 2020; Obadeji et al, 2020; Ogunsola & Fatusi, 2017) or permissive attitudes towards substance use (Mehanovic et al, 2020; Ogunsola & Fatusi, 2017). Fewer studies have highlighted the important role that protective factors in the family domain play in predicting adolescent substance use and misuse (Agwogie et al, 2022; Ogunsola & Fatusi, 2017). For example, Ogunsola and Fatusi found that among urban students from Osun state, parental disapproval of substance use was associated with a lower likelihood of adolescent substance use; among rural students, connection to parents was associated with less substance use.…”

“…For example, Ogunsola and Fatusi found that among urban students from Osun state, parental disapproval of substance use was associated with a lower likelihood of adolescent substance use; among rural students, connection to parents was associated with less substance use. In a study of over 2000 students from the greater Lagos region, Agwogie et al (2022) demonstrated that parental disapproval of substance use differentiated adolescents in a “high substance use” profile from adolescents in a “low substance use” profile. Further, parental knowledge of adolescents' activities discriminated adolescents in an “alcohol use” profile from adolescents in a “low substance use” profile.…”

International Perspectives in Psychology for Sustainable Life

“…The articles included in this issue exemplify this. In addition to Mylonas et al’s (2023) Greek adaptation of the Situational Triggers of Aggressive Responses scale, they showcase work conducted with adolescents and young adults on three continents, Africa (Nigeria; Agwogie et al, 2023), Europe (Switzerland; Bachem et al, 2023) and Asia (Georgia; Bachem et al, 2023). The differences they present highlight the extent to which context matters.…”

“…Yet, today, this view has become contested even in the natural sciences as evident in, for example, the socio-medical model in medicine (e.g., Hogan, 2019) and quantum physics (e.g., Fingelkurts et al, 2019). Deliberately considering the role of context in psychology might allow us to identify nuances that “matter” and which might present intervention points, for example, in relation to stress, mental health, and substance abuse among young people, which are the variables considered in the work by Bachem et al (2023) and Agwogie et al (2023) in this IPP issue, while also showing commonalities despite varying contexts. This issue concludes with two special section articles.…”