Abstract:
The research is aimed to study adversity, psychological state and adversity coping experiences of Thai farmers. The phenomenological qualitative research method was used. Twelve farmers in Sam-Pa-Niang distinct, Pranakornsriayudhya province, as key informants, were in-depth interviewed through interview guidelines. The interviews were coded from verbatim transcript and categorized into themes. The findings are divided into two themes: adversity in farmers' life and journey of adversity coping. The adversity in Thai farmers' life are: unpredictable weather, pests, fluctuation of rice's price, problem with irrigation system, problematic behaviors of family members, physical illness, loss of family members and loss of property. The journey to adversity coping was divided into 2 themes: psychological state of oppressiveness, and impact on their life. The adversity coping experiences of Thai farmers were consisted of 3 parts: 1) the beginning step of adversity coping included: awareness, inspiration from King Bhumibol, encouragement from a family and friends, government support, gratitude for Mother Earth Goddess, love for the career, and future goal setting; 2) adversity coping were: self efficacy in managing the adversity, commitment and responsibility, hope, fight with tolerance, facing reality and ability to see positive side of the problems; 3) Outcome of adversity coping experiences consisted of: hard effort, living adequate life, realizing truth of life, and realizing value of marriage life. The findings yielded deep understanding in nature of the adversity and the adversity coping of Thai farm