FACTORS INFLUENCING PREVENTIVE HEALTH BEHAVIOR FOR CANNABIS USE AMONG VOCATIONAL STUDENTS

Abstract

Thailand is facing an increase in cannabis use among adolescents. Exposure to cannabis during adolescence can affect an individual's neurophysiological health, psychological, sociocultural development, and well-being. Investigating the factors influence preventive behaviors related to cannabis use would be valuable for the early detection of cannabis use among adolescents. The objectives of this study were to investigate preventive health behavior for cannabis use among vocational students and its influencing factors including mental health literacy, family connectedness, optimism, and psychological flexibility. The sample consisted of 299 vocational students from Chonburi Province, aged ≤19 years old. The sample was obtained through simple random sampling technique. Data collection was conducted from April to June 2024. Instruments included 1) personal information 2) an adolescent mental health literacy questionnaire, 3) a family connectedness questionnaire, 4) an optimism questionnaire, 5) psychological flexibility scale for adolescents, and 6) preventive health behavior for cannabis use questionnaire. The Cronbach's Alpha coefficients for questionnaires number 2-6 were 0.96, 0.84, 0.70, 0.76, and 0.93, respectively.

The mean score of preventive health behavior for cannabis use among vocational students was 59.47 (SD = 21.89). Factors regarding mental health literacy, optimism, family connectedness, and psychological flexibility accounted for 34.5% of the variance in preventive health behavior toward cannabis use (R2 = .345, F4, 294 = 38.64, p < .001). The strongest predictor was mental health literacy (β = .32, p < .001) followed by optimism (β = .25, p < .001), family connectedness (β = .13, p < .01), and psychological flexibility (β = .12, p < .05), respectively.

The results of this study provide preliminary information on preventive health behavior for cannabis use and its predictive factors in vocational students. Significant predictors should be taken into account in developing nursing intervention aimed at preventing or decreasing cannabis users and improving individuals’ preventive health behavior relevant to cannabis use.

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