An Evaluation of the Prevalence of Substance Abuse among Students of Higher Education Institutions in Benue State, North- Central Nigeria: Implications for Counseling

The Investigation was directed towards the prevalence of substance abuse among students of higher education institutions, Benue State North – Central Nigeria. In order to undertake the research, one research question and one hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. The researcher made use of “Prevalence of Substance Abuse among Students Questionnaire” (POSAASQ) to obtain information for the research. The instrument was made up of twenty items. Students responded to substances abused by ticking always (A) 4 points, often (0) 3 points, sometimes (S) 2 points and never (N), 1 point. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.89 while it had content validity and language appropriateness. Six research Assistants were used by the researcher to administer copies of the instrument on the respondents in colleges of education, polytechnics and universities. The mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the data, items 1 – 20. The One – Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypothesis. One of the findings revealed that, there is prevalence of substance abuse among students in colleges of education, polytechnics and universities. Another finding showed that, there is significant difference among students in colleges of education, polytechnics and universities in the prevalence of substance abuse. Some of the recommendations include; the government should formulate laws to guide the consumption of different substances in Nigeria so as to prevent abuse, Authorities of Higher Education Institutions should sensitize students on the dangers of substance abuse through the use of posters and handbills.