Wongsiri Termsrirat. Influence of life skills and family characteristics on amphetamine users among secondary school students in Narathiwat province . Master's Degree(Family Health). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2003.
Influence of life skills and family characteristics on amphetamine users among secondary school students in Narathiwat province
Abstract:
The objective of this cross-sectional research was to study amphetamine
users among secondary school students and to determine the influence of life skills
and family characteristics. Three hundred and ninety students who were considered
vulnerable to the risk of amphetamine use were included. Data were collected using
self-administered questionnaires and an indicator test was used for inspecting
amphetamine substance suspended in the urine of studied students from November
15 to December 23, 2002. Statistics used for data analysis were frequency,
percentage, mean, standard deviation, Chi-square test, and Logistic Regression.
Results revealed that among the 390 respondents studied 23.6 % had used
amphetamines. According to the study, it was found that most of the students who
both used and did not use amphetamines had a moderate level of life skills, at
90.2 % and 83.6 % respectively, and most had a moderate level of family quality, at
66.3 % and 52.7 % respectively. The factors that were statistically related to
amphetamine use at the 0.05 level were critical thinking, self-awareness, social
responsibility, decision making and problem solving, coping with stress and
emotion, and family characteristics. The factors that were influential with
amphetamine use were life skills in terms of social responsibility, decision making
and problem solving, and coping with stress and emotion. According to the study,
the students having a moderate level of social responsibility were at 1.5 times higher
risk of amphetamine use than those having a high level of social responsibility.
Moreover, the result of the study revealed that the students having a low level of
decision making and problem solving skill were at 3.5 times higher risk of
amphetamine use than those having a high level of decision making and problem
solving skill. Also, the students having a low level of coping with stress and
emotion were at 3.8 times higher risk of amphetamine use than those having a high
level of coping with stress and emotion.
Based on the finding, it is recommended that the collaboration from school
and parents are required to promote and develop the life skills of youth in order that
they be able to solve the problems occurring in society and abstain from the use of
drugs.