DRUG ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH CONSEQUENSES AMONG YOUTHS
A STUDY OF SOCIETAL NUISANCE IN LAFIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, NASARAWA STATE
Keywords:
Mental Health, Mental Illness, Insecurity, YouthAbstract
The paper critically examines drugs abuse and mental health consequences among Youths in Lafia Local Government Area, Nasarawa State. The paper reviews relevant literatures on drug abuse and mental health among youth. Data were gathered through primary and secondary sources. The research is anchored on the Social Cognitive Theory propounded by Albert Bandura in 1986. The research findings show that, drugs abuse retard youths physical, economic and social wellbeing as well as psychological development. It is also gathered that, mental health and drug abuse are related and cannot be separated because most of the drug abusers frequently have more than one mental illness. The study concludes that, drugs abuse is a serious scourge that affects the social and economic fabric of the individual, family, community and the nation. Finally, the research recommends that, there is need for the establishment of programs that can help people who are mentally disturbed as a result of drug abuse such as rehabilitation centers and support groups so that they share and learn from their experiences, stakeholders should continually organize and intensify health education campaigns, utilizing various avenues such as social media, facebook, twitter, Whatsapp, instagram and billboard targeted at youth in homes, schools, markets and community places on the dangers of drugs abuse on mental health.