Domestic Violence and Environmental Factors on Academic Performance of Senior Secondary School Students in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract This study examined domestic violence and environmental factors on academic performance of senior secondary school students in Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. To guide the study, four hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The descriptive survey research design was used in the study and two instruments were used in this study namely; a self-designed questionnaire titled “Domestic Violence and Environmental Factors on Students’ Academic Performance Questionnaire (DVEFSAPQ)”, and achievement test on English Language to measure academic performance. The instrument had a reliability coefficient of 0.76 when tested during the pilot study. The achievement test on English Language consists of 20 items. One hundred and twenty (120) students were selected as sample size for this study using the stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Independent t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistical tools were used for the hypotheses formulated. Findings from the study showed that there is a significant relationship between domestic violence and academic performance of senior secondary school students in Lagos State, there is a significant relationship between domestic violence and students’ school attendance in senior secondary schools in Lagos State, there is a significant relationship between parental motivation and academic performance of senior secondary school students in Lagos State and there is a significant influence of family size on academic performance of senior secondary school students in Lagos State. Based on the findings of the study, the study recommended among others that teachers should be equipped with the skills of identifying and manage students who are emotionally, cognitively and socially affected by domestic violence. Also, government should enact laws and empowered courts to deal with cases of domestic violence and punish the culprits. Keywords: Academic Performance, Domestic Violence, Family Size, Parental Motivation, Physical Abuse