Relationship Between Drug Abuse and Academic Achievement
The University of the West indies | The Relationship Between Drug Abuse and Academic Achievement | ED67V-Quantitative Research Methods | | Daynea Marie Bowes-06000401 & Sasha Schaaffe- | 3/8/2012 |
Deviance refers to any behavior, belief or condition which may go against the norms of a society or group with drug abuse being categorized as one such form of deviant behaviour (Wantanabe, 2006).
Drug abuse among teens is a worldwide problem. In Jamaica, the use and abuse of drugs by teenagers has steadily increased over the decades. Gazarelli, Hoxter & Lester (1987) in studying the drug usage patterns of Jamaican teens, discovered that while drug usage was not dependent on sex, it bore positive correlations with other anti-social behaviours and emotional disturbance. In 1989, 78 percent of teen males and 40 percent of teen females were using one of four drugs (alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and tobacco) (Soyibo & Lee, 1995). Between 1994 and 1995, it is indicated that 60 percent of teens had tried one or more drugs including marijuana while 1.3 percent had used cocaine (Soyibo & Lee, 1995). These alarming levels of reported drug continued to rise as in 2006 , 1 in every 3 students in secondary schools admitted to using ganja while 1 in every 10 students admitted to currently using drugs (Cops Step Up Anti-drug Message In Schools ,Jamaica Gleaner, 2010).
With the levels of drug abuse currently reaching alarming proportions, finding a plausible explanation for such behaviors and determining its impact on student achievement has become imperative. The negative relationship between drug abuse and academic performance is instinctively appealing and to some extent this kind of relationship has been proven. King, Meehan et.al (2006) have established that drug abuse could result from many variables, with poor academic performance being a key variable in explaining students initial and continued abuse of drugs. While poor school achievement can be
Deviance refers to any behavior, belief or condition which may go against the norms of a society or group with drug abuse being categorized as one such form of deviant behaviour (Wantanabe, 2006).
Drug abuse among teens is a worldwide problem. In Jamaica, the use and abuse of drugs by teenagers has steadily increased over the decades. Gazarelli, Hoxter & Lester (1987) in studying the drug usage patterns of Jamaican teens, discovered that while drug usage was not dependent on sex, it bore positive correlations with other anti-social behaviours and emotional disturbance. In 1989, 78 percent of teen males and 40 percent of teen females were using one of four drugs (alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and tobacco) (Soyibo & Lee, 1995). Between 1994 and 1995, it is indicated that 60 percent of teens had tried one or more drugs including marijuana while 1.3 percent had used cocaine (Soyibo & Lee, 1995). These alarming levels of reported drug continued to rise as in 2006 , 1 in every 3 students in secondary schools admitted to using ganja while 1 in every 10 students admitted to currently using drugs (Cops Step Up Anti-drug Message In Schools ,Jamaica Gleaner, 2010).
With the levels of drug abuse currently reaching alarming proportions, finding a plausible explanation for such behaviors and determining its impact on student achievement has become imperative. The negative relationship between drug abuse and academic performance is instinctively appealing and to some extent this kind of relationship has been proven. King, Meehan et.al (2006) have established that drug abuse could result from many variables, with poor academic performance being a key variable in explaining students initial and continued abuse of drugs. While poor school achievement can be