Agensi antidadah kebangsaan kementerian dalam negeri

House Location
The neighborhood a family can afford generally determines the quality of
life a person may have. House location determines the quality of schooling
available, as well as opportunities for higher education; and the availability
of such opportunities, along with the neighborhood's peer groups' attitude,
can affect the motivation and the students' involvement in school crimes
(Papalia & Olds, 1998). Studies have shown that house location is greatly
influenced by SES and poverty factors. Many studies reported that poor
children are also at high risk of injury, unhealthiness, and problematic
behavior. Many poor families live in crowded and poor sanitary housing
areas and the children may lack adequate supervision, especially when
the parents are at work. They are more likely than other children to suffer
from lead poisoning, hearing and vision loss, and iron-deficiency anemia,
as well as stress-related conditions such as asthma, headaches, insomnia,
and irritable bowel. They also tend to have more behavioral problems,
psychological disturbances, and learning disabilities (Brown, 1987;
Egbuono & Starfield, 1982; Santer & Stocking, 1991; and Starfield, 1991).
Thus, in this study, it is predicted that students who live in an unhealthy
area, such as squatters, will be more involved in drug abuse than those
living in proper housing areas.

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Demographic Determinants of Drug Abuse Problem
Among Secondary School Students in an Urban Area
163
Rafidah Aga Mohd Jaladin , m/s 155-172
Home Environment
Papalia and Olds (1998) stated that the family's SES, including financial
resources and the parents' educational background, could have a major
influence on the children's school achievement. In one study of 90 rural
African American families with their firstborn children between the
ages of 9 to 12 years old, it was found that parents with education were
more likely to have higher incomes and to be more involved in the
child's schooling. Higher-income families also tended to be more
supportive and harmonious. Children growing up in a positive family
atmosphere, whose mothers were involved in their schooling, tended
to develop better self-regulation and perform better in school (Brody,
Stoneman, & Flor, 1995). Thus, SES in itself does not determine school
achievement and delinquent involvement; it is its effects on family life
that can make a difference.
Family factors such as a chaotic home environment, ineffective
parenting, and lack of attachments and nurturing are thought to be
among the most significant risk factors for substance abuse. Others
include social/environmental factors such as excessive shyness,
aggressive classroom behavior, academic failure, poor social coping
skills, involvement with deviant peers, and perceptions of approval of
substance use among peers in the school and community (NIDA, 1997).
In the present study, it is predicted that students who reported of
having an unsatisfactory home environment would tend to be more
likely involved in drug abuse than those who reported a satisfactory
home environment.