PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE USE AS CORRELATES OF QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between substance use and the quality of life of undergraduate students in the University of Lagos. It also determined if students who use alcohol in combination with other psychoactive substances report lower quality of life than students who use other substances apart from alcohol. The study was a crosssectional survey involving One hundred and forty two (142) participants using a convenient sampling method. The sample comprised 61 females and 81 males. A self- report questionnaire, which included questions that elicited the demographic information fromparticipants and three psychological instruments namely; The World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL Brief) World Health Organization Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (WHO AUDIT), and The Drug Abuse Screening Tool (DAST-10) was used to collect data from participants. The results showed that the use of psychoactive substances is a predictor of low quality of life (r= -.353, p < .001). It also showed that, the use of alcohol in combination with other psychoactive substances is also a predictor of low quality of life when compared to using other substances apart from alcohol (r= -.253, p = .002). The study concluded that the use of psychoactive substances has a negative influence on the quality of life of undergraduate students. The finding of the present study implies that parents, guidance’s and teachers need to be more involved and monitor the activities of students especially their involvement in substance use so as to reduce or help them overcome the desire to use drugs.