FACTORS AFFECTING EFFECTIVENESS IN DRUG PREVENTION AND PROBLEM-SOLVING PRACTICES OF THE VILLAGE HEADMAN IN THE AREA OF KUSUMAN DISTRICT, SAKON NAKHON PROVINCE

Abstract

All government agencies take action to prevent and solve drug problems. It is necessary to rely on the people's participation, including the village headman because it is an important measure to prevent and solve the drug problem. The research's purposes included the following: 1) to investigate the levels of the village and sub-district headmen’s leadership, people’s participation, and the effectiveness of the village and sub-district headmen’s practices to prevent and solve drug problems in the area of Kusuman District; 2) to examine the influences of the village and sub-district headmen’s leadership factors and the people’s participation on the effectiveness of the village and sub-district headmen’s practices to prevent and solve drug problems in the area of Kusuman District. The sample consisted of 397 people who were domiciled in Kusuman District. They were collected using stratified random sampling techniques. The tool used for data collection was a questionnaire, and the statistics employed for data analysis were frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression analysis. The research revealed these results: 1) The overall leadership of the village and sub-district headmen in the area of Kusuman District was at a high level, while the people participated in preventing and solving drug problems in Kusuman District as a whole at a moderate level. In addition, the overall effectiveness of the village and sub-district headmen’s practices to prevent and solve drug problems in the area of Kusuman District was at a high level. 2) Regarding all leadership factors of the village and sub-district headmen, it was found that the aspects of knowledge and experience (β =.714) together with human relations and personality significantly influenced the effectiveness of the village and sub-district headmen’s practices to prevent and solve drug problems in the area of Kusuman District at the.01 statistical level. Overall, these factors could be used to correctly predict the effectiveness of village and sub-district headmen's practices in preventing and solving drug problems in Kusuman District (59.70%). In terms of people’s participation, participating in receiving or sharing benefits (β =.224) and implementing them (β =.148) significantly influenced the effectiveness of the village and sub-district headmen’s practices to prevent and solve drug problems in the area of Kusuman District at the.01 statistical level. At the same time, participating in the evaluation (β =.105) significantly influenced the effectiveness of the village and sub-district headmen’s practices to prevent and solve drug problems in the area of Kusuman District at the.05. statistical level. Altogether, these factors could be used to correctly predict the effectiveness of the village and sub-district headmen’s practices to prevent and solve drug problems in the area of Kusuman District 36.60% (R^2Adj=.366).