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

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)