Substance abuse, depression and self-esteem among Youths
Abstract
The study examined the relationship between social support, self-esteem and substance abuse. The study was carried out in Mpererwe Division Wakiso District among youth between the ages of 13 to 19 years. The study employed a cross-sectional approach which is quantitative and descriptive in nature to conduct the study. A sample of 100 adolescents, both male and female aged between 12-19 years were selected and the data was then expertly entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v23). The study showed that there is a significant positive relationship between social support and self-esteem among adolescents (r=.509*, p=.000<0.05), no significant relationship between social support and substance abuse among adolescents (r=.-.126, p=.298>0.05) and that there is a significant relationship between self-esteem and substance abuse among adolescents (r=.604**, p=.000<0.05). It was recommended that adolescents should be discouraged from joining bad peer groups by their parents and community leaders. This would help to stop them from engaging in activities that are engaged in by such bad peers such as substance abuse.