Abstract
Abstract:

Background: Randomized controlled trials on drug use and violent behavior are difficult and unethical to conduct. This study used propensity score matching (PSM) methodology to test for an association between drug use and violent behavior among adolescents and to build a model predicting the likelihood of violence perpetration.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 2,000 secondary school adolescents was conducted. The outcome variable was violent behavior, while the exposure variable was drug use. Other covariates included alcohol use, gender, age, family type, parents’ education, living arrangements, who raised the student, missed classes without permission, and parental marital status. Propensity scores were used to form a comparison (non-drug users) and an exposure group (drug users) that were similar in all observed predictors of violence. Logistic regression was used to estimate the propensity score.

Results: Drug use was more common among students whose parents had no formal education, those raised by grandparents, those living with their fathers only, those whose parents were divorced, and those who used alcohol and missed classes. A significant association between drug use and violent behavior was observed.

Conclusion: This analysis strengthens the evidence of the association between drug use and violent behavior. It also demonstrates that PSM methodology is a valuable tool for estimating the relationship between drug use and violence in cross-sectional studies by compensating for selection bias.

Keywords: drug use, violent behavior, propensity score matching, adolescents, cross-sectional study, Nigeria

Key words: Keywords: Violence, Drug use, Propensity scores, Adolescents