Prevention of substance abuse amongst the youth in Vhembe District: a case study of the Department of Social Development

Abstract

The study investigated the challenges faced by the Department of Social Development with regard to the prevention of substance abuse amongst youth in Vhembe district. South Africa is faced with a growing and multifaceted substance abuse problem within both rural and urban areas. Many people are becoming involved in drug taking and trafficking, especially young people. The age of the first experimentation with substances has dropped to between nine and ten years. The research process was both qualitative and quantitative in nature. Purposive sampling method which is a non-probability sampling was used to select participants of the study. A survey questionnaire and interview schedule was used to collect data. Two data analysis methods were used, namely, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and thematic analysis. The following ethical aspect were considered and applied when conducting the study and they are: Informed consent, Voluntary participation, Anonymity, Confidentiality and Discontinuance of participants. The major findings of the study are:

• There is poor capacitation of staff on matters of substance abuse, • The National sphere of Government does not recognize implementer's inputs when developing policies on substance abuse, • There are insufficient resources for substance abuse prevention programme, • There is a need for good coordination amongst role players in substance abuse prevention, • Peer pressure is the leading cause of substance abuse by the youth, followed by poverty and unemployment, social problems, media advertisement, experimentation, exploration, boredom, low self-esteem, poor school performance, poor relationship with parents and being pessimistic about the future, • Dagga, Alcohol and Cigarette are the commonly abused substances by the youth, followed by, Glue, prescribed medication and Nyaope and • That there is a need for recreational facilities in all residential areas.

The recommendations of the study are:

• AlI Departments that are implementing substance prevention programme should regularly train their staff on substance abuse issues, • The National Sphere of Government should consult with the implementers on the ground before formulation of any policy, • Enough resources to be made available to all Government departments and non­ Governmental organizations that are implementing substance abuse prevention programmes, • For good coordination substance abuse prevention activities should be led by the District Municipality at the local level and the Premier's Office at the Provincial level, • That an integrated approach by both Government ( DSD,SAPS and DOH) and non­ Governmental organizations (NGOS) should be employed to address challenges facing the youth, • More awareness campaigns should be conducted to educate the youth on the dangers of abusing substances especially Dagga, Alcohol and Cigar rete, and • That municipality must ensure that recreational facilities are established in all residential areas.