Description
PREFACE
This annotated bibliography is an attempt to organise published research
and writings on drugs and drug abuse in Nigeria in order to make that body
of knowledge accessible to all who are interested in drug-related issues.
Information on what has already been done in any field of study is necessary
for the development of systematic inquiry in that field. Finding such
information has been a daunting task in the drug abuse field as in many other
fields in Nigeria. This volume is the first in what will be a regular
publication and covers a period of thirty years, front 1964-1994.
Drug abuse as a social problem came to the attention of Nigerian
psychiatrists and social scientists in the late 1950s. But it was not until the
early 1960s that the first studies on the problem were published in scientific
journals. In fact the oldest article listed in this volume was published in 1964.
A couple of articles published before 1964 made indirect reference to drug
abuse in the country.
The initial focus of researchers was on epidemiology and psychiatric morbidity associated with illicit drugs. but the
interests of researchers today span the gamut of drug related issues, Also,
while cannabis (Indian hemp) was the first drug to attract the
attention of professionals, many other substances have become part of the
Nigerian drug scene today. For example, since the early 1980s the
abuse of cocaine and heroin has become a serious health problem
among adolescents and young adults in large urban areas.
The single most important motivation for compiling this bibiiography is to
show the kind of research and thinking that has gone into clarifying the role of
drugs in the Nigerian society and, therefore, guide and encourage a more
systematic inquiry into the problem. Great effort was put into the search for
materials. An extensive literature survey was conducted using available
data bases, e.g., Medline, Psychlnfo, PAIS and ERIC. We visited many
libraries, contacted researchers in the fieid for their lists of publications, and
sought information from organizations engaged in drug abuse control in
Nigeria. At the cntl of the search we were able to locate the materials listed
in this volume from a variety of sources. Most of the articles were published in scientific journals, some of which have ceased to exist or are of very limited circulation. We have also included summaries of papers presented at conferences in cases where edited proceedings were published.
In spite of all efforts to be comprehensive we suspect that some
relevant materials have been left out. Such materials will be included in t.he
next volume of this bibliography. Therefore, we encourage users of this
volume to bring to our attention omissions and incorrect information.
We also request researchers to send to us copies of their publications for
inclusion in the next volume. Each reference in this bibliography contains
enough information for the user to locate the document. Most of the
abstracts were taken directly from journals or databases. Others were
summaries prepared by us. The listings are dune in compliance with the style
manual of the American Psychological Association. For example, journal
listings begin with authors, followed by year of publication, title of paper,
name of journal (with volume, issue and page numbers), and the abstract.
Listings for materials from proceedings carry all necessary information needed to locate both the book and the article.
The bibliography has been divided into four sections to make the search for
references easy. Section A is a numerical listing of the abstracts under
seven topics. For each topic, abstracts are arranged in alphabetical order by
author. Because many articles address more than one issue, the numbers of
other abstracts which are related to a particular topic are listed at the end of
the listings for that topic in order to make cross referencing a bit easier.
In Section B (Author Index) users can search the bibliography by name of
author. Section C (Subject Index) extends the search option further by
making it possible for the user to search directly for references on any
subject in the bibliography. For example, a user who is looking for
articles on the epidemiology of alcohol abuse may ?nd references under
epidemiology or alcohol using the subject index. The location of relevant
abstracts may be under one or more topics in Section A. Section D (Source
Index) makes it possible to search for articles published in a particular
journal. The journals are listed in alphabetical order with page numbers
after each entry.
It is my genuine hope that this bibliography will be a useful tool for
researchers, students, policy makers, health care practitioners and all those
working on any aspect of the drug problem in Nigeria.
Isidore Silas Obot, PhD, MPH.
Executive Director,
Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse (CRISA).