%0 Journal Article
%T Actors of Psychoactive Drug Initiation among Adolescents in Yaoundé-Cameroon
%A Claude-Audrey Meguieze
%A Atabe Ngwene Neri Ngole
%A Georges Eric Nseme Etouckey
%A Paul Olivier Koki Ndombo
%J Open Journal of Pediatrics
%P 246-254
%@ 2160-8776
%D 2024
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/ojped.2024.142023
%X <strong><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">Introduction:</span></strong><span><span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\"> Actors of psychoactive drug initiation refer to
those who introduce others to psychoactive drug use (initiators) and those who
are introduced to psychoactive drugs (users). By identifying their features,
better prevention and intervention programs can be developed to reduce
psychoactive drug use among adolescents. This article describes the role of
actors of psychoactive drug initiation among teenagers in secondary schools in
Yaound¨¦ (Cameroon). </span><b><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">Methodology</span></b><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">: A cross sectional study was carried out
in twelve secondary schools in Yaound¨¦ from October 2022 to May 2023.
Adolescents from Form four to upper sixth, who assented to participate in the
study and received parental consent were included. Data were collected in a
structured s</span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">elf-reported questionnaire and
analyzed using SPSS 23. Quantitative va</span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">riables were expressed using
means, standard deviations, median and interquartile ranges depending on the
distribution of data. Qualitative variables were exp</span><span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">ressed in the form of frequency and percentages. </span><b><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">Results:</span></b><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\"> Drug
use wa</span></span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">s more prevalent among male adolescents (55.3%) from nuclear
families (91.4%) who rec</span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">eived relatively high
pocket money. The main sources of drug expo</span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">sure </span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">were non-family members (49.7%), especially friends outside school. Th</span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">e
most frequent place of initiation was snack bars (33.1%). </span><b><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">Conclusion:</span></b><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\"> The study revealed the importance of the family, friends and leisure places in
the initiati</span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">on process of drug use in
teenagers. Based on these results, parents an</span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">d school authorities should
work together to create a safe and supportive environment that fosters
communication, education to prevent drug abuse among adolescents in Yaound¨¦.</span></span></span>
%K Initiators
%K Drug Users
%K Adolescents
%K Cameroon
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=131643