Effects of motivational counseling program on knowledge, attitude and drug refusal among prisoners in Loei Province

Abstract

This is a quasi-experimental research of one group, pre- and post-test. The purpose of this study is to study the effects of motivational counseling on knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy in refusing drugs, and readiness to change and quit drugs and the need for drug treatment. The sample group is 50 drug addicts who were specifically selected to participate in the research according to the specified qualifications. The instruments used in the study include the data collection tools, consisting of a general information questionnaire, a knowledge questionnaire, an attitude questionnaire toward preventing drug relapse, a self-efficacy perception questionnaire in refusing drugs, and a readiness to quit drugs and the need for drug treatment. The instrument used in the experiment is a counseling program to enhance motivation to quit drugs, developed by the research team under the theory of behavioral change stages of Prochaska and Diclemente (1 9 8 6 ) . The program consists of 8 activities, 45-60 minutes per treatment, once a week for 8 weeks. Conducted between March and December 2024. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-statistics. The results of the study found that the sample group had average knowledge before and after the counseling program to enhance motivation to change drug use behavior. There was a statistically significant difference at the .05 level (p<.000). After joining the program, the sample group had higher knowledge, attitudes toward preventing drug relapse, perceived ability to refuse drugs, and readiness to quit drug use and desire for drug treatment than before joining the program.