1 Page 1-8 © MAT Journals 2019. All Rights Reserved Journal of Counselling and Family Therapy Volume 1 Issue 2 Peer Pressure, Alcohol Use and Drugs Abuse on Anti-Social Behaviour among Youths in Makurdi Metropolis, Benue State Onah Caleb 1 , Okafor Moses 2 , Deborah Onah 3 1, 2 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science Benue State University, Makurdi Benue State, P.M.B 102119 Makurdi Benue State, Nigeria 3 Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science University of Port Harcourt, Choba River State, Nigeria Email: calebdexception@gmail.com DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2656085 Abstract This research examined the influence of peer pressure, alcohol use and abuse on antisocial behaviour among youths in Makurdi Metropolis, Benue State. 200 youths drawn from undergraduate students of Benue State University Makurdi. The participants ranged from 18–30 years. Data was collected on the basis of peer pressure inventory, alcohol problem index and antisocial behaviour questionnaire. Four hypotheses were tested using standard linear regression, standard multiple regression and independent T-test. The results showed that peer pressure significantly influenced alcohol use and abuse among youths in Makurdi Metropolis, Benue State [F (1,198) = 4.359; p< .001]. Alcohol use significantly influenced antisocial behaviour [F (1,198) = 6.411; p< .01]. Alcohol use and peer pressure was found to significantly predict antisocial behaviour [F (2,197) = 387.361; p< .001; R = .954, R 2 = .730]. The result showed gender differences among youths on alcohol consumption [t (1,198) = -3.242 p< .01]. It was established that peer pressure and alcohol use significantly influences antisocial behaviour among youths in Makurdi Metropolis, Benue State. It was therefore recommended parents watch, caution and educate their children on who to go out with. Also, laws be enacted to curtail excessive alcohol consumption among youths. Keywords: Alcohol, antisocial behaviour, gender, peer pressure, undergraduate INTRODUCTION Adolescents’ misbehaviours in schools have become cause of concern in most schools (secondary, tertiary institution of learning) in Nigeria and indeed many other countries worldwide [1]. In fact, peer group association as an agent of socialization, determines to a large extent, what social codes an individual learns [2]. However also, drug use and abuse is a social and public health problem in most countries worldwide, as a result of the several negative effects, it may have on people’s emotional and physical development [3]. Studies have pointed to an association between drug use and antisocial behaviour, which can be described as disrespectful behaviour and violation of rights [4]. In the 1940’s, the abuse of drugs, such as amphetamine, phenobarbitone, pethidine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and cannabis were reported [5]. In the1960s, isolated reports of drug abuse problems were also reported by the few psychiatric hospitals at that time [6]. Subsequently, sporadic community surveys, such as the pioneering effort of Odejide [7], who surveyed a rural community in Western Nigeria, emerged. This was followed in 1988, by the International Council on Alcohol and Addictions’ (ICAA) study in the urban and rural communities of five university towns in three, of the current six geopolitical zones. It took another decade before the (1998) UNDCP-funded, multi-city; rapid situation analysis of drug problems in Nigeria was conducted UNDCP [8]. Though the ICAA study analysed data from multiple sources in five states, the