Patterns and Predictors of Psychoactive Substance Abuse Avoidance Self-Efficacy: Insights from Drug Rehabilitation Centers in Southeast Nigeria


Trends in Natural Products Research

Patterns and Predictors of Psychoactive Substance Abuse Avoidance Self-Efficacy:
Insights from Drug Rehabilitation Centers in Southeast Nigeria

Simeon Ifebuche Ugwu1*, Chijioke Kenneth Ayogu1, Sunday Ogbonna Amu1, Victor Ikechukwu Uka1, Jeremiah Ukeatabuchi Echa1, JohnBosco Chika Chukwuorji1,2,3

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 41000, Enugu State, Nigeria.
  2. CS Mott Department of Public Health, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Flint
    Michigan, USA.
  3. Promotion of Health and Innovation for Well-Being (PHI-WELL), Department of Social Studies,
    University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway.

 

Key words: Rehabilitation, secondary prevention, self-efficacy, substance use disorder, treatment outcome
 

*Corresponding Author: ugwusimeon2@gmail.com
DOI:https://doi.org/10.61594/tnpr.v7i1.2026.152

 

Page No: 25–36
Volume: 7, Issue 1, 2026
Trends in Natural Products Research
Copy Right: NAPREG

 

Abstract


Substance use expectancies influence individuals’ confidence in resisting drug use, yet the relationship between these expectancies and self-efficacy in clinical populations undergoing treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) remains poorly understood. This study aimed to document patterns of psychoactive substance use and examine how positive and negative substance use expectancies predict drug use avoidance self-efficacy among individuals receiving treatment for SUD in rehabilitation centres. Participants (N = 216, 80.1% males; age range 17–44 years, mean age = 27.95, SD = 6.12) were recruited from three National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) drug treatment and rehabilitation centers in Southeastern Nigeria. Data were collected using the Psychoactive Substance Use Questionnaire (PSUQ), Drug Avoidance Self-Efficacy Scale (DASES), and Substance Use Expectancy Questionnaire (SUEQ). Results revealed that cannabis (89.4%), alcohol (84.7%), shisha (66.7%), coffee (63.9%), codeine (56.0%), and sedatives (56.9%) were the most frequently used substances in the past year. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that positive expectancies were negatively correlated with drug avoidance self-efficacy (r = −.43, P <.001), while negative expectancies showed no significant correlation with self-efficacy (r = −.06, P >.05). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis demonstrated that while negative expectancies were not significant predictors of drug use avoidance self-efficacy (β = .06, P =.423), participants reporting higher positive expectancies exhibited significantly reduced self-efficacy (β = −.46, P <.001). This model accounted for 20.0% of the variance in drug use avoidance self-efficacy. The findings suggest that positive substance use expectancies play a critical role in diminishing perceived ability to avoid drug use during rehabilitation.