The gateway hypothesis of substance abuse: an examination of its applicability in the Nigerian general population.

The study aims to estimate the prevalence and predictors of not following the gateway theory. Respondents were selected from a multistage stratified clustered sampling of households in five of Nigeria's six geopolitical regions. Interviews were conducted between February 2002 and May 2003 using the CIDI-version.3 with a total sample size (N) of 2,143. Cumulative incidence proportions of not following a gateway pattern were estimated with SUDAAN. Predictors of this were estimated using multivariate logistic regression models. The deviation from the normative sequence of drug use occurs albeit infrequently. The public health implications of this are discussed as well as the limitations of the findings.