Differential Association Theory:

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the impacts of peer group influence in the spread of substance abuse among the youths in the Kano metropolis by adopting the theoretical assumptions of Sutherland’s Differential Association theory as a frame of analysis. Is obvious that the rate at which substance abuse is increasingly growing as a phenomenon in Kano- metropolis is both frightening and alarming as the menace is increasingly becoming a household problem despite its negative implication which subsequently predisposes the youth into various criminal activities such as rape, assault and vandalism, traffic violation and most importantly their involvement into Daba and political thuggery. Using availability and snowball sampling techniques, the researcher sampled 350 respondents across various relevant stakeholders in the study area from whom data were generated and analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study found that in line with Sutherland’s assertion, the peer group is an important factor that significantly encourages the spread of substance abuse among the youth in Kano metropolis as the revelatory majority of the sampled respondents claimed to have learned substance abuse through their association with substance-abusing peers. As such, the study recommends that parents, guardians, and community members should monitor the movement and behavior of their children and the company they keep and as well ensure proper socialization of the youth so as to respect societal norms and live a more productive life.