Youth Drug Problems: The Evidence in Thailand

Abstract

This research is about youth drug problems. Drug problem is problematic for teenagers almost every part in Thailand. This study focuses on the case of Phu Khao Thong Subdistrict area in Narathiwat province. The purpose of this article aims to (1) study the economic effect of youth drug addiction, (2) the problem of school child's education system on youth drug addiction and, (3) the effect of social living quality from youth drug addiction. The population in the study is totaling 2,035 people, divided into 1,054 males and 981 females from totaling 966 houses. It uses the formula of Krejcie & Morgan table in obtaining the size of sampling group and that totaling 322 people for filling up the questionnaires and the other 12 people for the interviews both from the appointed government officials and the elected members who are working in the local administrative office. It has found some problems concerned. They are such as (first) the drug addition has affected the local economic factor that destroying youth careers in the community, the means is at 3.66 and the S.D. at 1.00 that grouped in a high level and ranked at the 1st position of the group. Second, the drug addiction has affected the local education factor and the policy maker is lack of knowledge and careless about how to solve the problem, the means is at 3.66 and the S.D. at 1.00, it grouped in a high level and ranked at the 1st position of the group. And, third, the drug addiction has affected the local social living quality factor, the means is at 3.66, the S.D. at 1.00, it grouped at a high level and ranked at the 1st position of the group. In addition, the results of effects in the hypotheses’ tests such as the economic, the education, the social living quality are coming out differently. However, all of the factors are with the level of statistical significance at 0.05. In conclusion, the drug problem is not problematic at the beginning, but it is increasingly problematic later on by the drug dealers from both sides: government and non-government people. Almost every village now is facing with the problem of burglary in the community, students dropping out of school and, teenagers having no future.