Psychoactive substance use among children in informal religious schools (Almajiris) in northern Nigeria
"Almajiri" is a term used to describe children in northern Nigeria who are sent to live with teachers of the Qur’an in order to receive religious instruction. Unable to cater for their needs, the teachers send the children to the streets to beg and do menial jobs. Drug use and other forms...
| Published in: | Mental health, religion & culture |
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| Authors: | ; ; ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
2009
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| In: |
Mental health, religion & culture
Year: 2009, Volume: 12, Issue: 6, Pages: 527-542 |
| Further subjects: | B
Northern Nigeria
B Almajiri B psychoactive substances B Street children |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | "Almajiri" is a term used to describe children in northern Nigeria who are sent to live with teachers of the Qur’an in order to receive religious instruction. Unable to cater for their needs, the teachers send the children to the streets to beg and do menial jobs. Drug use and other forms of high risk behaviour have not yet been studied among these children. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 340 Almajiris in northeast Nigeria, using an adapted version of the WHO Student Drug Use Questionnaire. The Almajiris were all males, with ages ranging from 5 to 16 years (mean = 11.2 years, SD = 3 years) who had left their parents between the ages of 3 and 12 years (mean = 6.6 years, SD = 2.1 years). The prevalence of drug use was 66.2% and the most frequently used drugs were stimulants (49.7%), volatile solvents (21.5%), cigarettes (19.1%) and cannabis (18.5%). This study provides the first evidence of a high prevalence of drug use among the Almajiris. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-9737 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Mental health, religion & culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13674670902832813 |