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Psychosocial Factors and Drug Addiction Behavior of Secondary School and Vocational College Students in the Northeast.
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    The purposes of the preent study were to investigate and compare the socail background and psychological traits of the drug addict and non – addict students, to study the relationship of psychological traits and social background to drug addiction behavior of the students and to search for ways to develop desirable psychological traits so as to serve as immunity against drug addiction behavior of the student.

The Samples
The samples used in the field research comprised of two groups of students, i.e. one group of those from secondary school and vocational colleges and another group of youths from the Youth Probation and Protection Centers which were admitted to the Centers because of their drug addiction behavior. The first group of samples were purposively seclected from the secondary school and vocational college students in Udornthani, Ubol Rajathani and Nakorn Rajasima. The second group were selected in the same way from the youths in the Youth Probation and Protection Centers in Ubol Rajathani, Nakorn Rajasima and Khon Kaen. The researchers travelled to the selected places to collect the data. The students were asked to aggregate either in the school auditorium or their classroom to respond to the questionnaires. A total of 661 secondary school students, 568 vocational college students, 225 youths in the Probation and Protection Centers and 37 students at the drug treatment centers completed the questionnaires.

Research Tool
The tools used in the study were questionnaires which were designed to measure the variables regarding the respondents’ social background, the relationship between the respondents and their parents and their friends, their knowledge about the ill effects of drugs, their future orientation and self – control, their mental health, their attitudes towards drugs, the school and their teachers and their level of drug addiction.

The Finding:
1. On the aspect of social background of the students with no drug addiction behavior (level I) and those with drug addiction behavior (level IV), it was found that male student had greater drug addiction behavior than female student of largely the same age span. The students without drug addiction behavior had higher learning achievement than those with drug addiction behavior. The parents of the majority of the students with drug addiction behavior had a lower-than bachelor’s degree education.
2. On the aspect of the relationship between the student and their parent, it was found that the students without drug addiction behavior (level 1) had significantly better relationship with their parents than those with drug addiction behavior (level IV). That is to say, the student who did not try any drugs albeit peer persuasion, according to their report, received greater loving care from their parents and were taught to be more reasonable and capable of self-control than those who had tried and become addicted to drug ton the point of needing rehabilitation
3. On the aspect of peer relationship, it was found that students without drug addiction behavior (level I) albeit peer persuasion had better relationship with friends than those with drug addiction behavior. They also reported that their relationship with friends was based on reason and that they had greater self – reliance that those those with drug addiction behavior who needed rehabilitation.
4. Students without drug addiction behavior had significantly cleaere knowledge about drug and more correct attitude toward drug than those with drug addiction behavior. Howeve, both groups of the students believed that drug could ease their mind, although they could cause senselessness, poor mental health and make themselves a nuisace to other people as well as to their family.The students without drug addition behavior had a stronger belief in the notion that drug could help them to become hardworking and could work for longer hours than the students with drug addiction behavior. This is a crucial situation where the students without drug addiction behavior must be exposed to the proper knowledge about the harmfulness of the drug.
5. On the aspect of the students’ attitude towards their teachers and schools, it was found that both the students without drug addiction behavior and those with drug addiction behavior had no significantly different attitude towards neither their teachers nor schools. However, when analyzed as one whole group, their attitude towards teachers and schools could serve as a predicting variable for their drug addiction behavior.
6. On the aspect of future orientation and self-control, it was found that the students without drug addiction behavior had significantly greater future orientation and self-control than the students with drug addiction behavior.
7. On the aspect of mental health and self-adjustment, it was found that the students without drug addiction behavior had significantly better mental health and self-adjustment than those with drug addiction behavior.
8. Learning achievement, father’s level of education, peer relationship, knowledge about drugs, attitude towards drugs, future orientation and self-control and mental health all represent negative variables to drug addiction..
9. The significant variables which would serve as immunity against drug addiction behavior of the students include relationship with friends, attitude towards teachers and schools, mental health, reasonable way of up-bringing, attitude towards drugs, parents’ loving care, learning achievement, future orientation and self-control, knowledge about drugs and father’s level of education. These variables together could predict 24 % of the students’ drug addiction behavior .
10. Students of both groups indicated difficulties for which they needed help. These problems concerned their study (46.5%), not having enough money to spend (19.4%) and family-related matters (12.7%). The persons they consulted most when they encountered problems were parents (50.6%) and friends (25.2%), while only 9.9% of them consulted their teachers.
11. Around 73.6% of the students of both groups acknowledged that they had learned about their friends taking drugs while 26% of them indicated that they did not know any. Around 60.9% of the respondents indicated that they had actually seen their friends taking drugs while 38.7% had never seen any. Only around 35.6% of the respondents believed that there was no chance for them to become addicted to any drugs.
12. Around 46.1 % of the total respondents indicated that the best source of information on the ill effects of drugs were schools, while 12.5% of them indicated mass media. However, 33.2% of them did not indicate any particular sources.
13. The respondents of both groups indicated their spending of free time mostly in listening to music, and spent less time in reading books and visiting friends at their homes, respectively. When the two groups were compared, it was found that the students without drug addition behavior chose listening to music as their first choice, while the students with drug addiction behavior chose visiting friends at the latter’s homes.
14. When both groups of respondents were asked to indicate the causes that led some students to try drugs, 43.4% of the students without drug addiction behavior reported that some students did try it just because they wanted to show off their bravery, while 44% of the students with drug addiction behavior reported that some students tried it because they thought that drugs can help them solve their problems.

Suggestions
1. All the school personals concerned must admit that there are drug problems in their schools and that they must work cooperatively to solve them.
2. The variables discovered in the present study, such as peer relationship, attitude towards teachers and schools, the students mentals health, attitude towards drugs, future orientation and knowledge about drugs, can be developed through teaching and learning processes in school or by any jointly sponsored projects between the school and students. The development of any particular variable would eventually lead to the development of the others.
3. Teachers must give special attention to the way the students spend their free time by recommending appropriate activities. School should organize teacher – parent days to alert the latter to the significance of the up – bringing of their children amidst the atmosphere of love and reasonableness.
4. It is recommended that school administrators can use any of the questionnairs employed in the present study to investigate drug problems in their school before constructing new projects for the purpose of building up drug immunity in their students.