Author(s)

Ibtissam Cherkaoui El Malki¹, Imad Echerbaoui¹, Khaoula Mammad¹, Youssef El Madhi², Ahmed Omar Touhami Ahami¹

¹Unit of Cognitive Behavioral Neurosciences & Nutritional Health, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco.
²Regional Center of Trades of Education and Training, Rabat, Morocco.

Adolescence is a transitional stage from childhood to adulthood, marked by cerebral maturation accompanied by a neurodevelopmental upheaval. It is a critical biological stage of high vulnerability for the consumption of psychoactive substances (PAS), but also a phase of identity research influenced by the level of self-esteem. The objective of this study is to explore the prevalence of consumption of the PAS and the links with the levels of self-esteem among adolescents attending school in Kenitra. Moreover, the study is transversal, including 714 young students (high school students) aged 15 to 21 years. The instrument used is an anonymous self-questionnaire centered on the uses, attitudes and opinions relating to psychoactive substances, self-questionnaire for adolescents: Rosenberg’s Self-esteem Scale. Our result shows also a deficit of self-esteem in both adolescent populations. However, it is more expressed among consumers (t = -7.191, p < 0.001). Thus, 57.99% of consumers have low self-esteem and 26.04% have very low self-esteem. While among the non-consumer population, 50.28% have low self-esteem and 9.72% have very low self-esteem.

Psychoactive Substances, Self-Esteem, Adolescents, Impact, Evaluation, Morocco

El Malki, I. , Echerbaoui, I. , Mammad, K. , El Madhi, Y. and Ahami, A. (2018) Evaluation of the Impact of Psychoactive Substances on Adolescents’ Self-Esteem Attending School in Kenitra, Morocco. Psychology, 9, 705-713. doi: 10.4236/psych.2018.94044.