PERCEIVED IMPACT OF DRUG ABUSE ON STUDENTS’ SOCIAL INTERACTION AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS SCHOOLING AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ODEDA LOCAL GOVERNMENT OGUN STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the perceived impacts of drug abuse on students’ social interaction and attitude towards schooling among secondary school students in Ogun state. The study adopted descriptive survey research. A questionnaire titled “PIDASIA” was used for the study and its reliability test was done using Cronbach Alpha and a value 0.765 was gotten. A total of four hundred and ninety-eight secondary school students were drawn from three private and three public secondary schools in Odeda Local Government Areas of Ogun state using a simple random sampling technique. Six research questions were raised and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean, percentage and standard deviation. The findings of the study showed that the students have a strong awareness of drug abuse in the society. The study however revealed that students engage in drug abuse due to peer pressure, bad parental care and some life challenges. It is however established that drug abuse can make a student to develop brain damage, perform poorly in school and drop out eventually. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that the school should do more of sensitization for the students on drug abuse; Parents should exhibit good characters for their children and that there should be public awareness by the government in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to curb the menace of drug abuse in schools.