AN INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECTS OF COHABITATION AND STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG THE POST-SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KALTUNGO, GOMBE STATE, NIGERIA

The study is focused on the effects of cohabitation on students' academic performance among Post-Secondary school students in Kaltungo, Gombe State, Nigeria. The research design adopted for the study was the descriptive survey design with a population of 5,000 students. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the required respondents for the study. A sample of 300 students was used from the various institutions. The instrument for data collection was a researcher-developed instrument entitled “Investigating on the Effects of Cohabitation and Students Academic Performance Among the Post-Secondary School Students in Kaltungo”. The theoretical framework used for the study was the attachment theory. The analysis was executed with frequency distribution table. The findings revealed that the level of cohabitation among Post-Secondary students is significantly high. Also, there are effects of cohabitation on the academic performance of students as the majority of the students indicated that most of them cohabit to gain social influence, economic values, and protection from their spouses. It reveal some dangers of cohabitation on the students and the solutions of addressing the dangers were suggested. The study concluded that, parents should be visiting their children it the schools and also hostels/accommodation should the made available for the students. The study recommended that parents should show interest by paying unannounced visits to their children staying on campus to see how they are faring in school.