ArticleSubstance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy2024
Prevalence, correlates, and reasons for substance use among adolescents aged 10-17 in Ghana: a cross-sectional convergent parallel mixed-method study.
Article in Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pain, policy, and the opioid dilemma in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of access, regulation, and health governance from 1990 to 2024.Health policy and planning · 2026Pooled it
- Substance use among young people in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Substance Use Prevention Among Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Emerging Evidence.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingPooled it
- Social Media Constructions of Alcohol as Emotional Coping and Social Connection in Ghana: Qualitative Study.JMIR infodemiology · 2026Article
- Substance use risk among school going adolescents in India: secondary analysis of Community Based Peer-Led Intervention (CPLI) trial.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2026Article
- Sex Differences in the Factors Associated With Lifetime Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis Use Among Ghanaian University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Public health challenges · 2026Article
- Road safety threats and occupational health risk associated with psychoactive substance use and dependence risk among commercial drivers: WHO ASSIST evidence from Ghana.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Cannabis and Alcohol Use and Their Effects on Hematological and Biochemical Parameters: Evidence From the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Ghana.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Substance Use in Sports: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Professional Footballers in Accra, Ghana.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Co-developing a framework to guide school-based substance use prevention (SSUP) interventions in Ghana.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Factors associated with adolescent use of tobacco products in the Upper East Region of Ghana: A cross-sectional study.Tobacco induced diseases · 2026Article
- Exploring the perspectives of adolescents in high school in Northern Ghana on barriers to accessing substance use services.Discover mental health · 2025Article
- Alcohol use among adolescents in eight sub-Saharan African countries: evidence from the Global School-based student health survey (2012-2017) using the socio-ecological model.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Adolescents as co-designers: adapting human-centered design to develop school-based mental health strategies in northern Ghana.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Psychosocial factors driving common substances used among Ghanaian senior high school students.BMC research notes · 2025Article
- Substance use among Ghanaian adolescents in secondary education: the determinants and medico-social implications.BMC public health · 2025Article
- "I don't belong here": experiences of substance use and treatment compliance among young adults in Lango, Uganda.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Gendered mediating role of substance use in the path from internet addiction or gambling to active violence in youth in the region of Mahdia, Tunisia.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Social norms and social opportunities: a qualitative study of influences on tobacco use among urban adolescent girls in Ghana.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Experiences of residents in a therapeutic community model of substance use disorder treatment in a mental hospital in Ghana.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSubstance 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.
methodsData 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.
resultsThe 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.
conclusionsThere 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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