Relationship Between Attachment Styles And Risk For Problematic Drug Use Among Undergraduate Students In Selected Universities In Kenya

Abstract

Problematic drug use among university students has serious consequences on their overall wellbeing, has potential to inhibit successful transition to the work force, and could predicate substance related problems later in life. Problematic drug use impacts socioeconomic development by affecting potentially skilled work force and increasing the burdens of both the healthcare and the criminal justice systems. Whereas many studies have been conducted among students in universities in Kenya, most ignore the multidimensional underlying factors including behaviour, attitudes and motivations, that influence propensity to problematic drug use. This study was designed to determine whether there is a significant difference in the risk for problematic drug use among students with different attachment styles. Attachment style here refers to the socioemotional behavioural systems that guide how individuals manage their needs for emotional security. Attachment styles thus play an important role in how people self-adapt. The study employed a correlational research design using self-administered questionnaires to collect information on both attachment style and drug use. A sample of 400 respondents was selected from four universities, two public and two privates, located in Nairobi and Kiambu counties. Statistical analysis of the findings of the study showed significant correlation between attachment styles and problematic drug use, meaning that individuals who manifest anxious attachment style have a higher risk for problematic drug use. This finding has a major implication of prevention and treatment of problematic drug use since effectiveness is to a major degree predicated on an individual’s attachment pattern.