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Cited by 33Substance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesYouth, Drugs, and ViolenceAdolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health

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Prevalence, correlates, and reasons for substance use among adolescents aged 10–17 in Ghana: a cross-sectional convergent parallel mixed-method study

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Kyei-Gyamfi, Sylvester, Kyei-Arthur, Frank, Alhassan, Nurudeen, Agyekum, Martin Wiredu, Abrah, Prince Boamah, Kugbey, Nuworza·2024·Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
DOI 10.1186/s13011-024-00600-2PMC PMC10905778
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Abstract

Background: Substance use among adolescents poses significant risks to their health, wellbeing, and development, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, including Ghana. However, little is known about the outlets and reasons for substance use among Ghanaian adolescents. This study examined the prevalence, correlates, reasons for substance use, and outlets of these substances among adolescents aged 10–17 in Ghana. Methods: Data were obtained from the Department of Children, Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Ghana, which employed a cross-sectional convergent parallel mixed-methods technique to collect quantitative and qualitative data from children aged 8–17, parents or legal guardians and officials of state institutions responsible for the promotion and protection of children’s rights and wellbeing. Overall, 4144 adolescents aged 10–17 were interviewed for the quantitative data, while 92 adolescents participated in 10 focus group discussions. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-square test, and multivariable binary logistic regression were used to analyse the quantitative data, while the qualitative data was analysed thematically. Results: The prevalence of substance use was 12.3%. Regarding the types of substance use, alcohol (56.9%) and cigarettes (26.4%) were the most common substances. Being a male and currently working are significant risk factors, whereas being aged 10–13, and residing in the Middle- and Northern-ecological belts of Ghana are significant protective factors of substance use. Peers, household members who use substances, drug stores, and drug peddlers are the major outlets. The reasons for substance use were fun, substance as an aphrodisiac, boosting self-confidence, dealing with anxiety, and improved social status. Conclusions: There is a relatively high substance use among adolescents in Ghana, and this calls for a multi-sectoral approach to addressing substance use by providing risk-behaviour counselling, parental control, and effective implementation of substance use laws and regulations.

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Crossref · 10.1186/s13011-024-00600-2

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  • Most existing studies in Ghana on psychoactive substance use have focused on prevalence, associated factors, and reasons for use among adolescents and tertiary students.

    “While psychoactive substance use has been studied in Ghana, most of the existing studies have focused on its prevalence, associated factors, and reasons for use among adolescents and tertiary students [28–30].”

    From Road safety threats and occupational health risk associated with psychoactive substance use and dependence risk among commercial drivers: WHO ASSIST evidence from Ghana (2026) · cites this paper as [28]

    The Background says that most Ghanaian studies discussed there focused on in-school adolescents, and describes this paper as examining prevalence, correlates, and reasons for substance use. It does not establish that most existing Ghanaian studies focused on those three topics or on tertiary students; its Discussion likewise describes a concentration on school-going adolescents, not tertiary students. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Metadata

Authors
Kyei-Gyamfi, S., Kyei-Arthur, F., Alhassan, N., Agyekum, M. W., Abrah, P. B., & Kugbey, N.
Affiliations
  • African Institute for Development Policy (MW)
  • University of Education, Winneba (GH)
  • University of Environment and Sustainable Development (GH)
ORCID
Venue
Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2024-02-29
Volume
19
Issue
1
Pages
17-17
ISSN
1747-597X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s13011-024-00600-2
PMC
PMC10905778
OpenAlex
W4392285061
Cited by
33
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 6
FWCI
10.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Substance Abuse Treatment Prevention and Policy (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Youth, Drugs, and Violence
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
Keywords
adolescent substance use, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, substance use prevalence, risk factors, protective factors, peer influence, household members, drugstores, causes of drug use, gender differences, parental control, Ghana
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Ghana, Humans, Male, Risk Factors, Prevalence, Substance-Related Disorders

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