JP/3/Child/set lead 3 cols, 10 pt

Most drug abusers are male students, study finds

JAKARTA (JP): A study, conducted by the Atmajaya Catholic University last year, reveals that most of the alcohol and drug abusers in Jakarta are male and below 25 years of age.

Dr. Satya Joewana, who works at the Drug Treatment Hospital here, told a seminar yesterday that according to the study 84 percent of the 151 respondents were first introduced to drugs and alcohol by friends while they were still attending junior high school. The other people who would introduce them to drugs included their brothers, relatives and traffickers, he said.

"The youngest victim of the illicit business was a fourth grade student, who was only 10 years old when he got his first taste of drugs, " Joewana added.

The two-day seminar, which was held at Theresia Junior High school in Central Jakarta, discussed various problems faced by youths in Jakarta. It was attended by principals and sports instructors from all Catholic schools in Jakarta.

Joewana said that 50 percent of the abusers were between 13 and 18 years of age. Forty percent were between 19 and 24 years old and the rest were above 25.

He said that 70 percent of the drug abusers were students, 10 percent were employees and the rest were jobless.

"The majority of them claimed they could not say no when alcohol and drugs were first offered to them while others said they were just curious," he said.

Joewana added that those who later became addicts said they took drugs because they provided them with a chance for socialization or as a way of relieving stress.

According to the speaker, the respondents said the first places where they were introduced to drug and alcohol was in school, at their friend's home, on the street or at an entertainment center.

According to the study, 83 percent of the introductory meetings took place during free time and 13 percent at parties.

"Most of the alcoholics and drug abusers come from broken families," Joewana disclosed.

He said that the bad relationship among family members means a weakening of the ties between fathers, mothers and sons. However, Joewana said that in many cases the mother could be over protective towards the son while at the same time the father had hardly any communication with him at all.

He added that, according to the study, relatives had no influence on the abusers no matter how close their relationship was.

The study also reveals that the degree of religiosity among the parents had no effect on the children, he said.

"But there was a great difference in the degree between drug abusers and non abusers," he said.

According to Joewana the study also found that some drug abusers had psychological problems, such as depression, attention deficit disorders, immaturity and anti-social personalities.

It was also found that there were problems of intrapsychic and interpersonal conflicts among the abusers, and these were caused by social changes, he added.

"Drug abuse is estimated to have affected only 0.06 percent of the total Indonesian population," Joewana added.(05)