ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR, DEMOGRAPHICS, AND ACADEMIC OUTCOMES: AN INVESTIGATION OF THEIR INTERCONNECTEDNESS AMONG STUDENTS"

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of antisocial behaviour and demographic factors on academic performance among undergraduate students of University of Ibadan. There is no standard approach of understanding what factors contributes to student’s performance, hence, this study is built on this premise to unravel how antisocial behaviour and demographic factors could play a role in the performance of university students. Cross-sectional survey research design was adopted and data was gathered from 341 respondents. Frequency distribution revealed that more of the respondents 236 (69.2%) were females, while the other 105 (30.8%) were males. Data was gathered using standardised scales of measurements. Hypotheses were tested using appropriate inferential statistics. Findings revealed that students with high level of antisocial behaviour reported higher on academic performance (Mean = 83.49; SD = 12.01) compared to those with low level of antisocial behaviour [t (339) = 2.94; p < .05]. It is shown that there exist significant gender differences in academic performance of university of Ibadan undergraduates [t (339) = 3.27; p < .01]. Further, female students reported highest on academic performance (Mean = 82.92; SD = 13.35) compared to their male counterparts (Mean = 77.95; SD = 12.06). Further, when combined, age and educational qualification were significant predictors of academic performance [R = .30; R² = .09; F (2, 338) = 10.96; p < .01]. Collectively, age and educational qualification accounted for about 9% variance in academic performance. Also, age (β = .13; t = 2.47; p < .05) and parental educational qualification (β = .17; t = 3.23; p < .01) had independent influence on academic performance. Based on the findings, it was concluded that antisocial behaviour and demographic factors were significant predictors of academic performance. It is therefore recommended that school psychologists as well as concerned professionals should discourage antisocial behaviour among students. More specifically is ensuring that they conduct periodic checks on the academic activities of their children and/wards.