Purpose in Life among Students in Southern Thailand
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Abstract
This descriptive research aimed to describe the purpose in life among students in southern Thailand. The sample consisted of 222 Thai students who participated in activities at the academic booth of the Division of Community Nurse Practitioner, Faculty of Nursing, at the 2016 Prince of Songkla University open house. Accidental sampling was used to select the sample. The instruments consisted of two components: 1) personal data, and 2) the Purpose in Life (PIL) questionnaire. The PIL questionnaire was approved by three experts, and was tested for reliability with 30 junior high school students using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, which yielded the value of 0.84. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.The results revealed that most of adolescents had overall purpose in life about with mean and SD M(SD) = 95.12(14.34) Considering each of five domains of the purpose in life questionnaire, the highest mean score level was found in life expectancy component = 33.69(5.60), followed by attitude to life = 20.85(4.00), living with meaningful = 20.28(4.19), self-determination = 10.28(2.96) and feeling that I am meaningless = 10.02(2.79). respectively The findings could be used as a basis for planning, promoting and maintaining their purpose in life. Furthermore, this findings could be help them to live with strength, self-direction, selfesteem and responsibility for their life, and to be a quality citizen of the nation.
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