Social skills training for secondary drug prevention in high risk adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Substance abuse is a common health problem among adolescents in Nigeria, particularly owing to its relationship with a chain of behaviours that encourages the spread of HIVIAIDS. The effectiveness of social skills training in secondary prevention of substance use was examined among high risk adolescent school attendees in Ibadan. One hundred and forty eight adolescents (63% response rate) of 235, aged 15 to 17 years, who reported having smoked tobacco, cannabis or having drunk alcohol in an initial survey on sexual behaviours of adolescents in 1badan and who were invited to participate in a one day educational programme on drug abuse named "My life in my hand" (mlmh) participated in the study. They were consecutively assigned to one of two conditions: (a) Mlmh skills training or (b) a control intervention involving no skills training. mlmh skills training is a combination of cognitive and behavioural techniques to improve adolescents' social skills and restructure their social network. Results showed that incidence of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use decreased significantly over the two month assessment period in the mlmh skills group but not in the no-skills group. Social skills training as a secondary preventive measure was found to be effective in substance use reduction among adolescents in 1badan. Future preventive strategies may consider a social-cognitive approach in HIV risk reduction.