Influence of drug abuse on chemistry students academic performance in selected secondary schools in Oro, Kwara State

Abstract

The upsurge in the use of drugs abuse as reported by various scholars appears to be global in nature. Although, everyone is at some risk of these drug related problems, students in secondary schools seem to be particularly vulnerable. This study focused not only on the risk taking behaviour involved in drug abuse  but also investigated the  influence of drug abuse on chemistry students’ academic performance in selected secondary schools in Oro, Kwara State.  The study adopted the survey research design. The sample consisted of 120 respondents who were sampled using multipurpose sampling technique. A set of questionnaire developed and validated by the researcher was used to collect data for the study. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square Analysis.  The two hypotheses generated were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that a significant relationship existed between drug abuse and students’ academic performance. The study showed excessive use of drugs leads to short time retention of specific content taught and lowering the academic performance of students.  Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that drug education should be integrated into the Secondary school curriculum   in Nigeria.