Correlates of cannabis and other illicit drug use among secondary school students in Nigeria

Background: The burden of cannabis and other illicit drug use on adolescents represent a serious public health problem. The majority of studies on risk factors for substance use originate from developed coutries, while limited data are available from developing countries. The aim of the present study is to explore factors associated with cannabis and other illicit drug use among nigerian secondary school students. Methods: The survey involved 32 secondary schools and 4,078 pupils of six geo-political zones (South-South, South-West, South-East, North-Centre, North-West and North-East) and two metropolitan cities (Abuja and Lagos) between December 2015 and January 2016. Socio-demographic characteristics, parental smoking and permissiveness, friends' illicit drug use, risk perceptions and positive beliefs were investigated as correlates of ever use of cannabis and other illicit drugs through multilevel logistic regression models. Results: The prevalence of cannabis use was 7.5%, while the prevalence of other illicit drug use (e.g. amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, inhalants, LSD, codeine, tramadol) was 12.0%. Results of logistic regression models showed that age, living in family structure different from both parents’ families, parental smoking, parental permissiveness to smoke, friends’ cannabis and other drug use, risk perceptions and beliefs were associated with the increased probability of cannabis and other drug use in adolescence. Having more cars was only related with the probability of cannabis use but not with that of other illicit drugs use. Conclusion: Since young population is dominant in Nigeria, greater investment in adolescents’ well-being by reducing the factors that contribute to cannabis and illicit drug use should be prioritized.