SUBSTANCE ABUSE AS A PREDICTOR OF LEARNING BEHAVIOURS AMONG SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS IN OJO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Perceived effects of substance abuse and substance abuse represents an important 
behavioural factor associated with students’ engagement in learning activities. This 
study examined the pattern of substance abuse among school adolescents, assessed 
their level of learning behaviours, and determined the perceived effects of substance 
abuse on their learning behaviours. A cross-sectional correlational research design 
was adopted. The population comprised school adolescents enrolled in public 
secondary schools in Ojo Local Government Area, while a sample of 300 adolescents 
was selected through a multistage sampling procedure involving purposive, stratified 
and simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected using the Substance 
Abuse and Learning Behaviour Questionnaire (SALBQ). Descriptive statistics 
comprising frequency counts, percentages, means and standard deviations were used 
to answer the research questions, while Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and 
simple linear regression were employed to test the hypothesis at the 0.05 level of 
significance. Findings showed the presence of substance abuse among the 
respondents, with peer-related substance use, alcohol use, non-medical use of 
prescription drugs and cough mixtures featuring among reported patterns. Learning 
behaviours were moderate, while substance abuse was associated with concentration 
difficulties, distraction, poor study habits and reduced academic interest. The 
hypothesis showed a statistically significant negative relationship between substance 
abuse and learning behaviour. The study concluded that substance abuse represents 
an important behavioural factor associated with learning behaviour among school 
adolescents. The study recommended strengthened school-based substance-abuse 
prevention, counselling, peer education, parental involvement and early identification 
and referral of adolescents requiring professional support.