EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ABUSE ON BEHAVIOUR OF THE YOUTH IN LANG’ATA SUB-COUNTY, KENYA: IMPLICATION FOR PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL THERAPY
Abstract
There have been numerous cases of alcohol abuse among the youth in Lang’ata Sub-County of Kenya. The purpose of this study was to establish the effects of alcohol abuse on youth’s behaviour. The study was guided by the following objectives: To determine the effects of alcohol on psychological Behaviour of youth in Lang’ata Sub-County, Kenya; To examine the effects of alcohol on social behaviour of youth in Lang’ata Sub-County, Kenya; To find out the effects of alcohol on moral behaviour of youth in Lang’ata Sub-County, Kenya; To explore the psycho-spiritual interventions that could be used to help the youth in Lang’ata Sub-County, Kenya. The study was grounded on three theories namely: Problem Behaviour Theory, Disease Alcohol Theory and The Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change. These theories were necessary as they created deeper understanding of the problem of alcoholism in the society. The Concurrent triangulation design was used in the study. The target population was 152 which was made up of 18 counsellors, 3 facilitators and 31 alcohol addicts in three rehabilitation centres within Lang’ata Sub-County, Nairobi County that were purposively selected. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data while interview guides were used to gather qualitative data. Validity was assured by expert judgment while reliability was ensured by piloting. The study established that alcohol has adverse effects on psychological, moral and social behaviour of youth. Psychologically, alcohol was found to impair judgments. Socially, alcohol was found to make people more social and sometimes abusive. Morally, alcohol was found to cause degeneration of moral values. Psycho-Spiritual counselors were also found to have the ability to offer holistic health to the alcoholics as both spirituality and psychology are needed in the recovery process. The study recommends that all stakeholders such as the youth alcoholics, counselors and policy makers and the government have an important role to play in addressing the problem of alcoholism by learning more about alcoholism to be able not only to prevent but also to heal the effected victims.
Keywords
Alcohol abuse by youth in Kenya
Citation
