PERCEIVED INFLUENCE OF DRUG ABUSE ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS STUDENTS IN AWKA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The study investigated knowledge and perception of drug abuse and its effects on academic performance of secondary schools’ students in Awka South LGA. Two research questions guided the study and two hypotheses were tested. The study utilized descriptive survey design. The population of the study consists of 1897 students of SS II class in the 2023/2024 academic session in the 18 government secondary schools in Awka south local government area of Anambra State. The sample of the study comprised 200 SS II students. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire which was developed by the researcher.  The instrument was validated by three experts in education. The instrument yielded reliability co-efficient of 0.84.  Mean, standard deviation and t-test were used to analyze data. The finding of the study revealed that poor parental supervision, peer group influence, boredom, stress, age could influence students desire to abuse substance, low self-esteem, curiosity and mental health issues were the reasons that promote students abuse of drugs among secondary school students in Awka South LGA. The finding further revealed that the negative effects of drug abuse on academic performance of secondary school students include absenteeism, dropouts, and deteriorating physical and mental health. Furthermore, findings revealed that the respondents did not differ in their opinion based on gender. Based on these findings, the researcher recommended among others that administrators of secondary schools should organize regular awareness campaigns to educate students about the dangers of drug abuse.