Drug Abuse Among Young Adults In Vietnam: The Influence Of Family, Peers, And Society

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the influence of family, peer, and society in interactions with personal factors on drug use among young adults in Vietnam. The study is based on empirical data collected among 189 young adults aged 18 - 27 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The sample included 113 subjects who had used drug, and 76 had not. Ecological perspectives and social leaning theory provide a framework for this study. Based on an extensive theoretical and empirical literature review, five hypotheses were derived, speculating the relationships between drug abuse among young adults in Vietnam with personal, familial, peer, community, and stress factors. Univariate statistics were first performed to obtain detailed descriptions of the sample population. Bivariate statistics then were applied to identify significant relationships between predictor and criterion variables. Finally, variables found to be significant in the bivariate analyses were entered in logistic regression in order to examine simultaneous influence of personal, familial, peer, community, and stress factors on drug use among young adults in Vietnam. Forward stepwise LR method was used to select significant variables for the overall model. In order to make sure that no statistically incorrect conclusion would be drawn, prior executing logistic regression analyses, data were screened for missing values, outliers, and multicollineary relationships. Findings from this study clearly suggest that there are multiple risk factors for drug abuse among young adults in Vietnam. These factors include personal characteristic (education level), peer influence (having friend/co-worker using drug), community support (community environment), and stress factors (school drop-out). While education level and community support have modest influence on drug use, peer influence and school drop-out are strong indicators for risk of taking drug among young adults in Vietnam. Family factors, contrast to the study hypothesis, are not significant indicators of drug abuse among young adults in Vietnam. This study with its exploratory nature provides primary and preliminary findings on relationships between personal, familial, peer and community factors on drug use among adults in Vietnam. Findings from this study may contribute to making and implementing effective drug prevention program in Vietnam.