A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON RISK FACTORS LEAD TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Future of a country depends upon the effective and sustainable utilization of resources including human resource .In human resource the most productive group in any society is youngsters. Youth is the time of energy, productivity and enthusiasm. If youngster's energy is focused into constructive and creative endeavours that will add to the process of nation building, But the real scenario is disappointing. Younger generation is engaged in many criminal activities rather than in constructive things. The root cause of these trends is increased level of substance abuse. Many awareness programs, policies and legal measures are there to control this, but substance abuse is really a hard thing to kick. It needs a unanimous and tremendous effort from the part of each and every individual of the society. As life became more technology oriented and family relations became money oriented, strength of risk factors that persuade for substance abuse has increased and protecting factors against substance abuse lost their strength. To tackle these issues effectively, an understanding of risk factors leading to substance abuse is essential. Many studies from different countries points out about the factors that lead to substance abuse. The present study is an attempt to identify the risk factors lead to substance abuse in the state of Kerala.