Exploring Parents and Teachers Perceptions on Causes and Effects of Drug Abuse on Academic Pursuit of Students in Selected Secondary Schools in Nasarawa State

The researchers conducted a research work on causes and effects of Drug abuse on Academicpursuit of Students in selected Secondary Schools in Nasarawa state. The study had sixobjectives, and as a guide six null hypotheses were raised. Descriptive survey design wasadopted for the study. The study targeted 3879 parents and teachers that attended Parents,Teachers Association (PTA) meetings in selected five secondary schools in the state. Thesample size was 776, comprising 622 parents and 154 teachers. Data were generatedthrough four rating structured questionnaire. SPSS was used to analyze data collected usingregression analysis to test null hypotheses one, two and three, while t-test was used to test null hypotheses four, five and six. All the null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level ofsignificance. The study revealed, among others, that 88% of the variance in academicpursuit of students is attributed to drug abuse. Among the recommendations provided toaddress the situation is that parents should monitor the activities of their children and guidethe type of friends they move with. This will help to protect them from undue influence offriends on their attitude towards the use of unauthorized drugs.