Life Assets and Substance Use of High School Students in Songkhla:

Chalita  Khirirat; Teerapat  Teetharatkul; Jaturaporn  Sangkool

doi:10.33192/Smj.2021.07

Authors

Chalita Khirirat Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla Thailand 90110 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4971-4218
Teerapat Teetharatkul Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla Thailand https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1716-7619
Jaturaporn Sangkool Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla Thailand https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6395-1394

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33192/Smj.2021.07

Keywords:

life assets, substance, student, high school

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between life assets (including demographic factors) and substance use among high school students.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1,713 participating students were asked to fill out questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (e.g., mean, frequency and standard deviation); associating factors were analyzed via univariate analysis and ordinal logistic regression.
Results: Among the participants, 67.5% were females with a mean age of 16.4±0.96 years. On average, the participants have a good level of overall life assets, except for community power. Those with a mean age of 14.3 years engaged in substance use early, with peer influence being a leading cause (8.1%). 48.0% of the participants had used substance in their lifetime, and 74.7% of them had used only 1 substance, with alcohol being the most prevalent (97.7%). An excellent level of participant life assets, especially wisdom power, was negatively associated with substance use (OOR = 0.48). Other significant factors that discouraged substance use were being an only child (OOR = 0.75), having a high cumulative grade point average (GPA) (OOR = 0.63), and belonging to a two-parent family. (OOR = 0.79)
Conclusion: This study affirms a negative relationship between an excellent level of life assets, especially wisdom power, and substance use. Demographic factors like being an only child, having a high GPA, and belonging to two-parent households also showed a strong negative association with substance use.

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