Relationship between Being Raised by Single Parent and Drug Abuse among Young People: Insights from Bloomingdale Suburb, Harare in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The study centred on investigating the relationship between being raised in single parent households and drug abuse among the young people in Harare’s Bloomingdale suburb in Zimbabwe. Other factors beyond single parenthood, which are social and economic were factored in to give a more rigorous explanation of such a behavioural outcome, i.e., drug use and abuse among the young people. Thus, the principal objective was to investigate whether or not single-parenthood leads to drug use and among the youth. Subsidiary objectives entailed investigating whether factors that are social and, economic lead young people in single parent households to abusing drugs. The study used a questionnaire as the research instrument for collecting data from a sample size of 35 participants who fell in the youth group age range (15 to 35 years). Results from descriptive statistics revealed that youths raised in single parent households were at a higher risk of drug use and abuse than those raised in other family structures. Inferential statistics made use of regression models such ANOVA as well as correlation analysis. The results from the regression analysis showed a statistically insignificant influence from single parenthood on drug use and abuse among the youth at the 5% level. The study also identified and proposed possible mitigation measures to curb drug abuse among young people.