RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEER INFLUENCE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF THE FILIPINO YOUTHS

This study was conducted at West Visayas State University, Iloilo City, Philippines in the year 2008 in order to determine the relationship between peer influence and academic performance. It also aims to find out whether there are significant differences in positive and negative peer influences when the respondents were classified according to age, course, gender, place of residence, year level, and monthly family income. The respondents of this study were 378 college students of WVSU. The research instrument used was a questionnaire. The data gathered were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) Computer Software version 15. The results of the inferential statistics were interpreted at the alpha level of 0.05.
The study revealed that there were no significant differences in positive and negative peer influences when the students are classified according to age, course, gender, place of residence, year level, and family income. There was also no significant relationship between academic performance and positive and negative peer influences.
It is therefore recommended that the teachers and instructors should improve the academic performance of the students by teaching them good study habits and adopting sound teaching strategies and methods. The teachers and instructors should teach the students to practice constructive criticism among themselves, not to put down the personality of one another, and to avoid or stop smoking. They should maintain teaching good peer relationships. Finally, the researchers recommend that similar studies be conducted in other institutions in order to have more comprehensive information.