Psycho-Active Drugs as Predictor of Mental and Behavioural Disorder among Patients of the Federal Psychiatry Hospital Benin – City, Nigeria from 2008 – 2012: Implications for Health Education

Abstract

This study analysed psycho-active drugs as predictor of mental and behavioral disorder among patients of the federal psychiatric hospital Benin – City as a means 0of establishing the magnitude drug problem. Three independent variables of age, gender and specific drug specificity in the causation of mental and behavioral disorder (dependent variable) were analysed. The method was the use of secondary data summary as kept in the medical record department of the hospital. The data were analysed using multiple regression analysis at 0.05 alpha. The findings were that; the ages of 19 – 30 years constitute those mostly affected by the use of drugs; males were much more affected than females, cannabis is the drug that causes most of the mental and behavioral disorder. It was recommended that drug education as part of health education be started early in the school curriculum before the adolescent age to avoid early involvement among other recommendation.

Keywords: Drugs, behaviourial disorder, federal psychiatry hospital, Nigeria.