ECONOMIC STATUS SUSCEPTIBILITY TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: AN EXPLORATIVE DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

Abstract

Substance abuse is a serious social vice that affects millions of people globally. Understanding these factors requires this comprehensive research that considers the interplay of parents' economic status with various students' personal, environmental, and societal factors, including the mechanisms through which financial resources impact susceptibility to substance abuse among university students. Using ecological systems theory, the study employed an explorative descriptive survey method.  Cramer's V, Pearson's chi-square, and Probability regression were used in data analyses. Findings showed parents' occupation and parents' income statistically predicted the probability of substance abuse at (0.010, p0.05), and (0.021, p0.05) respectively. Similarly, the probit model revealed that students' parents' monthly income predicted probabilities of substance abuse (B=0.021*** (.004), 0.05). The paper concludes that parents' occupation plays a pivotal role in determining the economic status of the family, which in turn, shapes their children in the university access to essential resources and serves as a powerful form of role modelling that shapes student's career aspirations, work ethic, and attitudes towards substance abuse, through provided examples, instilled values, and nurtured interests and talents. The theory can inform prevention and intervention efforts aimed at addressing substance abuse by targeting relevant social influences to reinforce positive behaviours.