Drug and Substance Abuse in Relation to Behavioral Disorders among Adolescents in Shikusa Borstal Institution, Kakamega, Kenya

Abstract

The prevalence of global conduct disorder (CD) among juvenile offenders’ ranges from 2 to 10%, making it a significant problem. This highlights the largest health and social issue facing the world's nations. Over 60% of inmates at Borstal institutions exhibit various forms of delinquency, and the estimated rate of CD in Kenya is 31.4%. This study sought to investigate the influence of drug and substance abuse on conduct disorder among the young offenders. The study incorporated Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory and Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory. Shikusa Borstal Institution was the study area. The study used descriptive research design. There were 250 target population. 68 juvenile offenders were chosen as the sample size using basic random and census sampling techniques. A modified CDS questionnaire and interview guide aimed at FGDS participants and key informants were used to collect primary data. Descriptive accounts were supplied verbatim and as narratives and STATA software version 15 (SSP) was used to analyze all of the raw data gathered for this investigation. The information was calculated and displayed as frequencies along with the corresponding percentages. Because they were skewed, continuous variables, such age and grade, were displayed as medians and interquartile range (IQR). Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyze quantitative data, and tables and figures were used to display the findings. The study's findings, the majority of participants (68.3%) were first-time offenders, they hardly ever shown symptoms of a serious conduct issue. However, there was a substantial, positive, and significant (p<0.05) association between CD and familial variables (r=0.797), drug and substance misuse (r=0.906), ADHD (r=0.895) among juvenile offenders, the results also showed that conduct disorder was positively and statistically significantly impacted by the independent variables that were utilized in the study, including drugs and substance misuse. The study recommends that in order to help young people modify their social conduct, the government and other policymakers should develop strategies and policies to counsel and advise juvenile offenders to behave well. Parents should receive training on how to recognize the symptoms of comorbid psychiatric disorders.