Abstract

Good academic performance is important for success and well-being in society. Adolescence crisis, which includes emotional components, psychological factors, and physical development, can influence academic performance. Factors such as drugs and alcohol abuse, peer influence, and social media can disrupt academic performance.

The study sought to investigate the effect of adolescence crisis on students’ academic performance in Mutengene. A descriptive survey design was chosen for the study conducted in Mutengene, Cameroon, focusing on secondary school students. The target population consisted of four schools, and a sample of 100 students was randomly selected. Data collection involved structured questionnaires and an interview guide, validated through a pilot study.

The demographic information revealed that the majority of the participants were in the 15-18 years age group, female, and attending high school. The study reveals that alcohol consumption has a significant negative impact on students’ academic performance in Mutengene, leading to decreased interest in studying, poor grades, absenteeism, and involvement in unsafe activities.

Similarly, excessive social media use is found to be detrimental to academic performance, causing distractions, reduced conc   entration, and lower grades. Additionally, drug abuse and negative peer influence were also identified as factors contributing to reduced academic achievement. Recommendations include implementing comprehensive alcohol education programs, promoting responsible social media usage, addressing drug abuse through prevention programs, and fostering positive peer relationships in educational institutions.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Historically, although the first use of the word “adolescence” appeared in the 15th century and came from the Latin word “adolescere,” which meant “to grow up or to grow into maturity” (Lerner & Steinberg, 2009, p.1), it wasn’t until 1904 that the first president of the American Psychological Association, G. Stanley Hall, was credited with discovering adolescence (Henig, 2010, p. 4). In his study entitled “Adolescence,” he described this new developmental phase that came about due to social changes at the turn of the 20th century.

Because of the influence of Child Labor Laws and universal education, youth had new found time in their teenage years when the responsibilities of adulthood were not forced upon them as quickly as in the past. Hall did not have a very positive view of this phase, and he believed that society needed to “burn out the vestiges of evil in their nature” (G. Stanley Hall, 2010). Therefore, adolescence was a time of overcoming one’s beast-like impulses as one was engulfed in a period of “storm and stress” (Lerner & Israeloff, 2005, p. 4). He identified three key aspects of this phase: mood disruptions, conflict with parents, and risky behavior.

Other work appearing in the late 1950s through the 1970s in Europe and America helped adolescence emerge as a field of study (important earlier work by Freud, Piaget, Maslow, and Kohlberg also addressed stages of development). In BYAEP, we were interested in how the work of Erik Erikson related to our work and how it articulated what we knew. Erikson (1959, pp. 251-263) described the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan.

Contextually adolescence crisis is a time for developing independence. About one percent to five percent of adolescence fear to go to school.  This may be generalized or related to particular persons, the teacher, student, school personnel, and the family.  Many students have dropped out from school due to adolescent crisis in Mutengene.  From my observation most adolescent have formed gang relationship and this gang membership have been linked with violent behaviours and anger that leads to physiological and psychological expression through their actions.

This adolescence form association made up of three and more members with age  12 to 19 years. These gangs sometimes adopt a name and identifying system and style of clothing. They also use certain signs that requires every member to follow.  When a teacher calls, or a member of administration they develop fear and run away from class because they don’t want to be punished.

This idea can be seen in Erickson’s (1950), when he described adolescence as a period during which the individual must established a sense of personal identity and avoid dangers of role diffusions and identity confusion. However, from observation, family factors such as strained relationship and lack of family cohesion are source of delinquency in adolescence that makes them feel left out or abandoned, these make them to indulge in delinquent activities, hence miss their education due to family chaos and disorder. The researcher believes that, family environment and relationship may affect the adolescence both at home and in school and at times makes the adolescence to hardly partake in classroom activities that turned to affect their academic achievement. From observation, abusers of adolescent delinquent behaviours are usually truants from school and are likely to associate with deviant peers.

Conceptually, Kaplan and Fukurai (1992) holds that whatever may be the source of these adolescence crisis (anxiety, fear, peer relationship, social media, adolescence environment, drug habit, teenage alcohol), this researcher thinks that the negative side of the crisis is rooted from the child’s  environment,  depression,  and social relationship that  turns to affect  the child as he or she grows to adulthood, hence affects adolescent  academic  performance in  school. Adolescence are more than children and are self-consciously and socially not yet adult. Growing generation of adolescence feeling excluded from adult Life, have created a new culture of their own which separate them from adult life.

The bulk of today’s adolescence exist in a world and culture of their own. There is a forceful youth culture which parents and others authority figures little understanding. This generation is growing up apparently free from quilt than the previous ones but at the same time, today’s Young men and women are almost instantly pushed more than any generation to the extreme of the excitation of their maturing cognition and sexuality and the ovaries and vices of the global village. As a result, many boys and girls seems poised to act, without qualms, as if they are mandated to discuss and experience some forms of non-existent excitement and sexual activity before they are fully prepared for it.

Adolescence Crisis: This refers to the period of psychological and emotional turmoil experienced by adolescents as they transition from childhood to adulthood. It encompasses various challenges such as identity formation, peer pressure, family conflict, and emotional regulation. Academic Performance this refers to the level of achievement exhibited by students in their academic endeavours. It could be measured by indicators such as grades, test scores, and class participation.

Environmental Factors: This includes all the external factors that could influence the academic performance of students such as socio-economic status, family background, school environment, and access to educational resources. Mediating Variables: These are variables that could impact the relationship between adolescence crisis and academic performance. Examples include self-esteem, coping strategies, and resilience.

Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework for this study will be based on Erik Erikson psychological development theory, which posits that adolescence crisis could have a significant impact on psychosocial development and academic performance. Also, the social cognitive theory by Albert Bandura which suggests that environmental factors and social influences play a crucial role in shaping behavior and academic performance. And lastly, Gordon Allport personality traits theory which explains how personality is the dynamic organization within the individual.

Theoretically, the theories that will be used to carry out this study include, Erik Erikson theory of psychosocial development, according to Erik Erikson, the stage of identity versus role confusion which starts from puberty to 20years, is a central dilemma of adolescence, most young people match themselves against the social roles parents and culture offers. We will also look at Albert Bandura social cognitive theory.

According to the social cognitive theory by Albert Bandura, it focuses on the learning that occurs within the social context, adolescence learn by observing new behavior and skills from a model, internalize it and demonstrate those behaviors observed which can influence their academic performance positively or negatively.

Also, Gordon Allport personality traits theory. Gordon Allport is a pioneer psychologist who made significant contributions to the study of personality but did not specifically write about adolescence crisis. This theory emphasizes the uniqueness of the individual and consequently adopt an idiographic view. The idiographic view assumes that each person has a unique psychological structure and that some traits are possessed by only one person and there are times when it is impossible to compare one person with the others.

1.2 Statement of the problem.

Adolescence crisis is due to lack of family attachments that sometimes makes  adolescence to be loose and  move around  without  any  control and  without  any rules to guide  them to  do their school  work  and house hold activities.  Hence they may engaged themselves in risky activities like drug use, teenage alcohol, social media crimes, peer influence and risky sexual activities  that  turns  to affect  their  academic  performance negatively .  In some cases, some parents keep late nights, hardly spend time with their children to see how they are performing in school.

This may turns to bring  about  freedom in the  side of the  adolescents,  where  they  also starts  keeping  late  nights and hardly have  time  to spend  on book work.  Also, parental  behavior  and parental  attachment is necessary  for adolescent  upbringing  and  Parents  who are separated from the adolescence  life due to divorce or marital violence  will exposed  them to many  dangers at this  stage.

This crisis include drugs and alcohol abuse, peer influence, and social media. They are caused by physical, biological, and social factors and if left unchecked and not corrected,  may result to more serious problem such as mental and social disorder.   Thus this study will seek to find out the effect of adolescence crisis on students’ academic performance in Mutengene which is disrupted by a number of crisis occurring in the developmental time of their lives.

1.3 Objective of the study

1.3.1 General objective

This study is meant to find out the effect of adolescence crisis on students’ academic performance in some secondary schools in Mutengene.

 1.3.2 Specific objective

1. Identify the impact of alcohol on students’ academic performance
2. Find out the impact of social media on students’ academic performance.
3. Investigate the impact of drugs on students’ academic performance.
4. Investigate the impact of peer influence on students’ academic performance

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