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Psychosocial Correlates, Risk, and Protective Factors of Substance Use Among Middle School Students in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

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The data for this study cannot be shared as part of the approval policy by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Washington University in St Louis (IRB # 202,207,150).

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Funding

This research was funded by the West African Research Association and the Brown School at Washington University in St Louis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Saint Louis University Medical School, 1438 S Grand Blvd, St Louis, MO, 63104, USA

    Enoch Kordjo Azasu

  2. Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA

    Melody Rachel Konadu Frempong, Baffour Boaten Boahen-Boaten, Cecilia Nartey, Solomon Achulo, Daniel Appiah & Cletus Bijalam Mbalida

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, St. Luke’s Hospital, St Louis, MO, USA

    Clifford Atuiri

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  1. Enoch Kordjo Azasu
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  2. Melody Rachel Konadu Frempong
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Enoch Azasu. The contributions to the manuscript are as follows: introduction: Melody Rachel Konadu Frempong and Cecilia Nartey; methods: Enoch Kordjo Azasu; results: Baffour Boaten Boahen-Boaten, Solomon Achulo, Cletus Bijalam Mbalida; discussion: Daniel Appiah, Clifford Atuiri. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Enoch Kordjo Azasu.

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Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

The questionnaire and methodology for this study were approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Washington University in St Louis (IRB # 202207150). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study including that of legal guardians.

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No identifying information was published in this article as this was just a cross-sectional study.

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Appendix 1. List of Measures

Appendix 1. List of Measures

Construct/Variable

Scale

Citation

1. Demographics

Age, Sex, Ethnic group, Religious group

 

2. Dating

Are you in a relationship? Yes/No

 

3. Sexual Intercourse

Have you ever had sex? Yes/No

 

4. Hunger

During the past 30 days, how often did you go hungry because there was not enough food in your home? Absent/Present

 

5. Substance use

Have you ever had a drink of alcohol or tried cigarette or tried marijuana? Yes/No

 

6. Sleep

How many hours of sleep do you get every night?

 

7. Close friends

How many close friends do you have?

 

8. Suicide Thoughts & Behaviors

During the last 12 months have you ever thought about killing yourself? Yes/No

(Gelaye et al., 2013; Kessler & Üstün, 2004)

9. Stigma

Opinions and Reactions to Suicide Questionnaire

(Eskin, 1992)

10. Traditional Beliefs

Paranormal and Supernatural belief scale

(Dean et al., 2021)

11. Religious Orientation

Religious Orientation-Revised Scale

(Gorsuch & McPherson, 1989; Lew et al., 2018)

12. Depression

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ 9)

(Kroenke et al., 2001)

13. Anxiety

Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale

(Julian, 2011)

14. Parental support

Perceived Parental Support Scale

(Kristjansson et al., 2010)

15. Stress

Perceived Stress Scale (4)

(Cohen, 1988)

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Azasu, E.K., Frempong, M.R.K., Boahen-Boaten, B.B. et al. Psychosocial Correlates, Risk, and Protective Factors of Substance Use Among Middle School Students in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Glob Soc Welf (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-023-00309-3

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