청소년 약물남용의 상관변수

Correlated Variables of Juvenile Substance Abuse in Korea

Object：The present study intended to discriminate correlates of juvenile substance abuse and to search for relationship between substance abuse and juvenile delinquency. Methods：A questionnaire survey was performed to the subjects of 1.690 students including 1,184 student adolescents from middle school to senior high school and 506 delinquent adolescents in randomly selected corrective institution for a period of 1 month. The age of subject ranged between 12 and 18 years. The collected data were analysed by SAS program using Chisquare and t-test. Results：① Delinquent adolescents (43.1%) show the higher frequency of substance abuse than student adolescents (15.1%). ② It revealed that the family member of substance abuser has the more mental problems and legal problems such as chronic disease, alcoholism, depression, suicidal attempt, committed suicide, criminal acts than the family member of non substance abuser. ③ Substance abuser were inclined to show the depressive trend, restlessness and psychosomatic symptoms, whereas nonsubstance abusers did not. ④ Substance abuser of adolescents showed the more unstable mood, impulsiveness, resistance, and committed the higher frequency of delinquent behavior than nonsubstance abuser. ⑤ In the motivation of substance abuse in this study, out of curiosity (53.8%), social purpose with one’s friend (12.3%), for the peace seeking (11.4%), for the power seeking (8.5%), for the sexual purpose (4.7%) and for the transcendental experience(3.4%）and so on was in this order. Conclusions：At present time, the substance abuse of children and adolescents raise a social issue in Korea. However, there are few literatures in the area of substance abuse in adolescent population. Accordingly, it will be necessary to investigate the causes of substance abuse in adolescents, and practitioner recognize the comprehensive meaning of the substance abuse of adolescents in their environmental and developmental context as well. Additionally, effective multidisciplinary approach toward a therapeutic and a preventive strategies should be developed, because of a multifactorial causes of substance abuse.