Factors Influencing Crystal Methamphetamine among Persons Aged 18-45years in Southeast Senatorial District, Rivers State, Nigeria
Ngo, King Biekina, Ibe, S N O, Nwoke, E A
Abstract
This study investigates the factors influencing crystal methamphetamine use among individuals aged 18 to 45 in the Southeast Senatorial District of Rivers State, Nigeria. Using a sample size of 419 respondents derived from a population of 1,483,040 through Cochran’s formula, the research employed descriptive statistics (percentages, tables, and charts) and inferential analysis via Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at a significance level of p ? 0.05. The findings reveal that both male and female respondents perceive socioeconomic, psychological, and social factors as key contributors to methamphetamine use, indicating a shared understanding of these influences across genders. However, statistically significant gender differences emerged in perceptions of environmental factors and public health consequences. These disparities suggest that while some drivers of drug use are commonly recognized, others—particularly external and health-related influences—are interpreted differently by men and women. The study underscores the importance of gender-sensitive prevention and intervention strategies, recommending tailored awareness campaigns, strengthened community support systems, integration of mental health services, regulatory control of drug access, and gender-informed training for professionals involved in substance use prevention and treatment.
Keywords
Factors
Crystal
Methamphetamine
psychology & Factors
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of
Substance
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662–667.
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Journal of Public Health.
McLaughlin, K. A., (2012). Childhood adversity and adult psychiatric disorders in the national
comorbidity survey replication. Archives of General Psychiatry.
McLellan, A. T., (2000). Rehabilitation for substance use disorders in the United States: A review
of the literature. Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Guilford Press.
Murphy, D. A. (2016). Self-esteem and health risk behaviors among adolescents. Health
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National
Youth
Policy.
(2020).
Rivers
State
Ministry
of
Youth
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marginalized
Nigerian
young
adults.
Addiction
Research
&
Theory,
1-10.
https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2021.1892816
News Agency of Nigeria. (2021). Mkpurummiri: NDLEA seizes 0.506kg of methamphetamine in
Ebonyi. Punch Newspaper. https://punchng.com/mkpurummiri-ndlea-seizes-0-506kg-of-
methamphetamine-in-ebonyi/
Njoku, L., Odita, S., & Thomas-Odia, I. (2021). How Mexican drug cartel brought Mkpuru Mmiri
to Nigeria. Guardian Newspaper. https://guardian.ng/news/how-mexican-drug-cartel-
brought-mkpuru-mmiri-to-nigeria/
Ojebuji, B. R., & Salawu, A. (2015). Decongesting the dodgy hub: The role of mass media in
curtailing illicit drug trafficking and use in Nigeria. Journal of Communication, 6(1), 219-
Ojo, A. O., (2021). Urinary retention concomitant with methamphetamine use: A case report.
Journal of Medical Case Reports, 15(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-021-03024-3
Okafor, C. N., (2020). Contingency management treatment for methamphetamine use disorder in
South Africa. Drug and Alcohol Review, 39(3), 216-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13021
Okoli, A., Ujumadu, V., Agbo, D., & Oko, S. (2021, November). How Mkpuru Mmiri is
destroying
and
killing
Igbo
youths.
Vanguard.
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/11/how-mkpuru-mmiri-is-destroying-and-killing-
igbo-youths/
Onukwufor, J. N. (2012). Fundamental of social psychology. Sambros Printing Press.
Onyeaka, H., Kugbey, N., Ayanore, M., & Oppong Asante, K. (2020). Prevalence and correlates
of truancy among school-going adolescents in three West African countries. Journal of
Human
Behavior
in
the
Social
Environment,
30(7),
936-949.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2020.1774459
Owolabi, E. O., Ter Goon, D., Adeniyi, O. V., & Seekoe, E. (2018). Adult binge drinking: Rate,
frequency and intensity in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. South
African Family Practice, 60(1), 46–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/20786190.2017.1340251
Ozah,
M.
O.
(2021).
Mkpuru-mmiri,
death
on
Addiction
Centers.
(2022).
Gender
differences
in
addiction.
https://americanaddictioncenters.org/
Bauer, M., (2016). Educational and socioeconomic inequalities in substance use disorders. The
Lancet Psychiatry.
Bauman, K. E., & Ennett, S. T. (1996). On the importance of peer influence for adolescent drug
use: The case of marijuana use. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105(4), 441-453.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.105.4.441
Brabete, A. C., Greaves, L., Poole, N., Huber, E., & Stinson, J. (2024). Considering sex, gender,
and equity factors in methamphetamine interventions: Findings from a scoping review.
Canadian
Journal
of
Addiction,
15(3).
https://journals.lww.com/cja/fulltext/2024/09000/considering_sex%2C_gender%2C_and
_equity_factors_in.3.aspx
Brown, S. A., Tapert, S. F., Granholm, E., & Delis, D. C. (2017). Neurocognitive functioning of
adolescents: Effects of protracted alcohol use. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental
Research, 24(2), 164–171. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2000.tb04586.x
Chassin, L., Pitts, S. C., & Prost, J. (2009). A longitudinal study of children of alcoholics:
Predicting young adult substance use disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 118(1),
1-15. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014656
Chou, S. P., (2019). Prevalence of substance use and mental health issues among racial and ethnic
groups in the United States. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 80(4), 568-576.
https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2019.80.568
Chung, T., & Maisto, S. A. (2011). Substance use and risky sexual behavior in adolescents: The
role of family environment and social networks. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance
Abuse, 20(2), 169-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/1067828X.2011.555272
Darke, S., & Kaye, S. (2004). The use of methamphetamine in Australia: Findings from a national
survey. Addiction, 98(2), 217-221. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00668.x
Dishion, T. J., et al. (1999). Peer-influenced adolescent substance use. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology.
Felitti, V. J., (1998). The relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of
the leading causes of death in adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Friedman, S. R., et al. (2003). Social networks, drug abuse, and drug policy: The role of social
relationships in the spread of methamphetamine use. Addiction, 98(2), 217-221.
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00268.x
Greenfield, S. F., Back, S. E., Lawson, K., & Brady, K. T. (2013). Substance abuse in women.
Psychiatric
Clinics
of
North
America,
33(2),
339–355.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2010.01.004
Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., & Miller, J. Y. (1992). Risk and protective factors for alcohol and
other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for substance abuse
prevention. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 64–105. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-
2909.112.1.64
Heath, D. B. (1995). Drugs, society, and behavior: Cultural perspectives. Allyn and Bacon.
Hernandez, A. G. (2016). Gender differences in initiation into methamphetamine use in a Mexico-
US
border
city.
Journal
of
Substance
Use,
21(6),
662–667.
https://doi.org/10.3109/14659891.2015.1122094
Hernandez, D. L., (2017). Family, peers, and substance use: The role of family support. Journal
of Substance Abuse Treatment, 76, 9-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2017.02.006
Hunt, G. (2019). Drugs and youth cultures: Is heroin the new punk? Routledge.
Jones, C. M., Olsen, E. O. M., & Compton, W. M. (2018). Rural–urban differences in the
prevalence of stimulant, opioid, and polysubstance use among adults in the United States.
Addiction, 113(3), 441–448. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14083
Kelly, J. F., & Daley, D. C. (2013). Prevention of methamphetamine use and addiction. Addiction
Science & Clinical Practice, 8(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1940-0640-8-1
Klee, H. (2017). Drug misuse and motherhood. Routledge.
Koob, G. F., & Volkow, N. D. (2010). Neurocircuitry of addiction. Neuropsychopharmacology,
35(1), 217-238. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2009.110
Kurtz, S. P. (2005). Post-circuit blues: Motivations and consequences of crystal meth use among
gay men in Miami. AIDS and Behavior, 9(1), 63–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-005-
1682-3
Maulik, P. K., (2011). The impact of unemployment on mental health: A review of the literature.
Journal of Public Health.
McLaughlin, K. A., (2012). Childhood adversity and adult psychiatric disorders in the national
comorbidity survey replication. Archives of General Psychiatry.
McLellan, A. T., (2000). Rehabilitation for substance use disorders in the United States: A review
of the literature. Journal of the American Medical Association.
Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2012). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change (3rd ed.).
Guilford Press.
Murphy, D. A. (2016). Self-esteem and health risk behaviors among adolescents. Health
Psychology, 15(3), 175–185. https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-6133.15.3.175
National Agency for the Control of Drugs and Alcohol (NACADA). (2022). Report on substance
abuse trends in Nigeria.
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). (2023). Annual report on drug abuse in
Nigeria.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (2020). Methamphetamine research report.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (2021). Methamphetamine. National Institutes of
Health. https://www.drugabuse.gov/methamphetamine
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (2021). Substance use and communities. U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
National
Youth
Policy.
(2020).
Rivers
State
Ministry
of
Youth
Development.
https://p4p.nigerdelta.org/youth
Nelson, E. E. (2021). ‘I take it to relax… and chill’: perspectives on cannabis use from
marginalized
Nigerian
young
adults.
Addiction
Research
&
Theory,
1-10.
https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2021.1892816
News Agency of Nigeria. (2021). Mkpurummiri: NDLEA seizes 0.506kg of methamphetamine in
Ebonyi. Punch Newspaper. https://punchng.com/mkpurummiri-ndlea-seizes-0-506kg-of-
methamphetamine-in-ebonyi/
Njoku, L., Odita, S., & Thomas-Odia, I. (2021). How Mexican drug cartel brought Mkpuru Mmiri
to Nigeria. Guardian Newspaper. https://guardian.ng/news/how-mexican-drug-cartel-
brought-mkpuru-mmiri-to-nigeria/
Ojebuji, B. R., & Salawu, A. (2015). Decongesting the dodgy hub: The role of mass media in
curtailing illicit drug trafficking and use in Nigeria. Journal of Communication, 6(1), 219-
Ojo, A. O., (2021). Urinary retention concomitant with methamphetamine use: A case report.
Journal of Medical Case Reports, 15(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-021-03024-3
Okafor, C. N., (2020). Contingency management treatment for methamphetamine use disorder in
South Africa. Drug and Alcohol Review, 39(3), 216-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13021
Okoli, A., Ujumadu, V., Agbo, D., & Oko, S. (2021, November). How Mkpuru Mmiri is
destroying
and
killing
Igbo
youths.
Vanguard.
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/11/how-mkpuru-mmiri-is-destroying-and-killing-
igbo-youths/
Onukwufor, J. N. (2012). Fundamental of social psychology. Sambros Printing Press.
Onyeaka, H., Kugbey, N., Ayanore, M., & Oppong Asante, K. (2020). Prevalence and correlates
of truancy among school-going adolescents in three West African countries. Journal of
Human
Behavior
in
the
Social
Environment,
30(7),
936-949.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2020.1774459
Owolabi, E. O., Ter Goon, D., Adeniyi, O. V., & Seekoe, E. (2018). Adult binge drinking: Rate,
frequency and intensity in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. South
African Family Practice, 60(1), 46–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/20786190.2017.1340251
Ozah,
M.
O.
(2021).
Mkpuru-mmiri,
death
on
