Emmanuel, Eyugu Alawa2023-12-142023-12-142021-08-10A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATES STUDIES, NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY KEFFI IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN SOCIOLOGYhttps://keffi.nsuk.edu.ng/handle/20.500.14448/7330Abuse of drugs by youths and its detrimental effects on their social, economic and healthy living in Karu local government area has continued to attract public attention. Based on this premise, it is imperative to understand the causes and triggers of drug abuse, the commonly abused drugs, the emerging ways of drug abuse that are not conventional and the extent to which involvement in drugs has affected social, economic and healthy lifestyles. The Differential Association Theory Psychodynamic theory was adopted as working theoretical frameworks to explain how the act of drug abuse is learned and the effect it has on health. A survey design was adopted with a sample size drawn from four communities using a multistage sampling technique. Data were obtained using both quantitative and qualitative approaches and questionnaires were administered to 379 to respondents and 20 In-depth Interviews (IDIs) were also conducted to augment the quantitative data. Results showed that drug abuse among youth in Karu is caused by the perceived benefits such as improved work performance (23.3%), to get high (20.0%) or relieved from pain (17.6%). The findings also revealed that Indian Hemp also known as cannabis (21.4%), Tramol/Tramadol (19.8%), codeine syrups (17.6%) and Shisha (18.2%) are the most abused drugs by youths across different ages, sexes, religions, educational backgrounds, marital statuses and occupations in Karu. In addition, finding revealed that abuse leads to addiction, injury/accident(s), unproductiveness, increased crime rates, health problems, and eventual death. The study, therefore, recommends among other things that it is important to encourage family education on drugs because the family is the core of the social organization. Parents should give their children/wards appropriate awareness of drug use. They should be encouraged by health authorities to offer family education on drug abuse to their children. They should inform them of the dangers of drug abuse on their health, society and the nation at large so as to reduce the scourge of drug abuse.enThesis