A Ghanaian criminologist and lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Jones Opoku-Ware, has attributed the growing incidents of drug abuse among Senior High School (SHS) students to identity crises and the influence of peer groups.

According to him, many young people enter secondary school without a strong sense of identity, making them vulnerable to peer pressure and substance abuse.

Speaking in a video sighted by GhanaWeb on July 20, 2026, Dr Opoku-Ware explained that the family is expected to provide children with a sense of identity and belonging.

However, he noted that many parents are failing in that role, leaving adolescents searching for acceptance elsewhere.

"Families initially are supposed to give kids an identity. We now have a lot of kids having what we call identity crisis. By the time they even get to secondary school, they don't even know who they are," he said.

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He explained that peer groups often fill that gap by offering acceptance, and in some cases, initiate them into these groups involved in drugs.

"So, now their peers give them an identity and tell them that the way we look at you, you can be part of us. They give the kid something to smoke. Because the kid doesn't have an identity or any sense of belonging. Those peer groups now give them an identity and a sense of belonging," he indicated.

Dr Opoku-Ware stressed that this explains why peer pressure is particularly intense during the secondary school years, a period when adolescents are trying to discover who they are.

"If you have observed over the years, that is where a lot of the peer pressure happens in secondary school, when the kids are now beginning to discover who they are," he noted.

He suggested that strengthening family support systems and helping children develop a strong sense of identity from an early age could reduce their susceptibility to peer influence and drug abuse.

MRA/VPO

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