Effect Of Substance Abuse Among Youths In Ilorin Metropolis Of Kwara State
[A CASE STUDY OF SANGO AREA]

Theories on drug/substance abuse
i.    Structural strain theory
The functionalist perspective or deviance has been further elaborated by Robert Merton (1910-2003). Merton‟s structural strain theory traces the origins of deviance to the tension caused by the gap between cultural goals and the means people have to achieve these goals. In society, culture establishes goals for people, social structures provide or fail to provide the means for people to achieve these goals. According to this him, poor people are most likely to experience the same goals and values of the rest of societies but have blocked opportunities for success; (Merton 1978). Structural strain theory helps explain between unemployment and crime pattern than blaming poor and unemployed criminals for not having values of the middle class, structural strain theory explains risk involved in such action (Siegel 1998).
ii.    Differential association – social learning theory
This theory was propounded by an influential early American Sociologist Edwin Sutherland in the late 19th Century. He argued that all behaviour is a result of socialization through interaction. That is, how we act depends on how those around us desire us to act. How much we deviate from or conform to the norms depends on difference (or differentials) in whom we associate with.
iii Functionary theory of deviance
According to this approach, deviance, crime, drug/substance abuse etc are related to the society. Theorists have view deviance, crime, drug/substance abuse and other allied crimes as related to the society. Society itself generated that they were not merely individual acts of anti-social behaviour. Having generated deviance, society operated in such ways as to reduce, not eliminate deviance and crime because they also had positive functions to the society (Jack 1973).
Against this background, people use drug/substance in the society even to the level of abuse or addiction because the society has designated certain types of drug/substance as socially acceptable. They are regarded as legal drug/substances and others as illegal. Such socially accepted drug/substances include alcohol and cigarettes which the user, use any how in the society on account of the favourable treatment accorded to them by the society.
Structural Strain Theory
The functionalist perspective or deviance has been further elaborated by Robert Merton (1910-2003). Merton‟s structural strain theory traces the origins of deviance to the tension caused by the gap between cultural goals and the means people have to achieve these goals. In society, culture establishes goals for people, social structures provide or fail to provide the means for people to achieve these goals.
According to this sociologist, Merton poor people are most likely to experience the same goals and values of the rest of societies but have blocked opportunities for success; (Merton 1978). Structural strain theory helps explain between unemployment and crime pattern than blaming poor and unemployed criminals for not having values of the middle class, structural strain theory explains risk involved in such action (Siegel 1998).
Theoretical Framework
This study was guided by social cognitive theory by Albert Bandura (1986), where by behaviours is determined by the person thought processes, the environment and behaviour itself, where in this cae, were the youth within the informal settlements.
This means that individuals determine their own behavior while being influenced by the environmental factors and their own behaviour. For example, youth who believe that taking a substances like cigarettes, alcohol e.t.c, will make them more attractive, strong, recognized and even more interesting to be around with.
The figure below shows how perception of drugs/substances have an effect on the attitude whether to abuse or not.