INFLUENCE OF MARITAL CONFLICTS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF MARRIED STUDENTS IN STATE OWNED TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

ABSTRACT

The study ascertained the influence of marital conflicts on academic performance of married students in the state owned tertiary institutions of Kaduna State. The specific objectives were five (5). A survey research design was adopted for the study; one thousand, six hundred and eighty two (1,682) was used as research population, three hundred and fifty (350) respondents were used as sample size. Five (5) null hypotheses were formulated. The research questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection which was validated through vetting and pilot study.

Descriptive statistics of frequency distribution and mean were used to present the bio-data of the respondents; statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) using inferential statistic was used in answering the research questions, while pearman product moment correlation (PPMC) was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The data collected for this study were subjected to reliability test, using split half method, proportional random sampling techniques frequency and means.

The reliability coefficient obtained from the instrument was 0.971 using PPMC values when compared with critical values that greatly exceeded the p- value which led to the rejection of all the null hypotheses. The findings revealed that significant relationship exist between marital conflicts and academic performance of married students. The findings also revealed that lack of sponsorship by spouse can influence poor concentration in academic activities of married students, open reprimanding of spouse in the presence of people around and high extent of marital pressure were equally observed as what influence academic performance of married students which has negative influence on married students academic performance, In the light of the findings, it was concluded that married students who are experiencing marital conflicts do not concentrate in academic work which influence poor academic performance and drop in cumulative grade point aggregate (CGPA) It was recommended that married students experiencing marital conflicts should develop positive coping strategies that would enhance their academic performance.