2021, Vol. 8, Issue 4, Part D

Background: Most young people are exposed or involved in substance use at very early ages and this has become a subject of public concern worldwide partly because of its potential to contribute to unintentional and intentional bodily harm Problem. Despite the growing problems of global substance abuse, accurate information on the prevalence of substance abuse among university students in Kenya is still inadequate.

Objective: The study therefore evaluated the prevalence of substance use and factors influencing substance use among youth attending university in Kakamega Design. The study design was a cross-sectional analytical, that utilized quantitative methods Setting. The study was conducted in Kakamega County, located in Western Kenya.

Sample: Random sampling was utilized to select the study group Analysis. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Data presentation was done using frequency tables, charts and in narratives. The alpha level for all the computations was considered significant at an α <0.05.

Results: Out of the 152 college students, 53.9% of them were female. The students mean age was 21.26 (SD 2.43) years with median of 21 years (range 18 to 25 years). Majority 46.7% of the youths were aged between 18 to 20 years. Most of them (88.2%) were single. Of the 152 university students in Kakamega, 42 (27.6%) of them were using different substances. Despite the use, majority 75.7% confirmed that substance use was against college regulations. Peer pressure 75%, poor parenting 19.1% and the ease of availability 15.1% were the commonly stated reasons for using substance. Married students (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.8), students who believed that it was wrong to use substances (OR 0.4, 95%CI 0.12 to 0.7) were less likely to use substances. On the other hand, students who believed that substance boosted their emotion (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.55 to 5.7) and those who stated that the substance affected their moods (OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.1 to 10.2) were more likely to use substances.

Conclusion: It was concluded that substance use among university students was high. Youthful factors such as demography, beliefs, and emotional needs greatly influenced substance use.

Recommendation: Based on the findings of this study, steps such as enforcement of substance use laws, youth skill empowerment for job creations, developments of rehabilitation facilities, integration of substance use and abuse in the education curriculum, and emphasis on guidance and counseling to control indiscipline in school are paramount in mitigating substance use