ผู้วิจัย/Authors: Uraiwan Pattanasatayawong

ชื่อเรื่อง/Title: Patterns of substance use and attitudes towards substances among high school children

แหล่งที่มา/Source: The 1st Asia Pacific Regional Conference of The International Association for Suicide Prevention (AISP), 6-8 October 2004, The Imperial Queen's Park Hotel, Bangkok Thailand, Page 35.

รายละเอียด / Details:

Objective: Annual surveys of high school students in Southern Thailand are conducted to monitor patterns of substance use and attitude towards substances. This report presents the findings of the first two years of the survey in 2002 and 2003. Methods: The subjects were randomly selected students in years 7,9 and 11 in four provinces in southern Thailand. A self -completed and anonymous questionnaire is administered to the students in their classrooms between June and august each year. The sample sizes were 8708 (4,316 boys and 4,356 girls) and 12, 148 students (5675 boys and 6440 girls) in 2002 and 2003, respectively.Substance use was measured for lifetime use, use within one year and 30 days before the interview. Perceived risk and disapproval of substance use and perceived availability of substances were surveyed for 14 kinds of substances. Results: Five percent of all students in both years reported ever using an illicit substance. The rate of lifetime use among boys in 2003 was higher than that of 2002 (9% and 7%), but remained constant for girls (2%). Among the lifetime users in 2003, 70% and 54% had used some substance in the past 12 months and 30 days. The three most common substances were marijuana, krathom and methamphetamine. The average age of first use of all kinds of substances was lower by 1-2 years for the 2003 cohort. In line with the perceived risk of substance use, student disapproval of substances was fairly common and most of them viewed illicit substances as difficult to obtain. Conclusion: The problems of substance abuse remain widespread among Thai young people. School-based interventions seem essential, especially in boys.

Keywords: psychiatry, substance use, drug abuse, dependence, high school student, Southern Thailand, marijuana, krathom, methamphetamine, amphetamine, adolescent, adolescence

ปีที่เผยแพร่/Year: 2004

Address: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University,

Code: 2004000092

ISSN/ISBN: -

Country of publication: Thailand.

Language: English.

Category: Abstract Paper.

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