THE BUILDING AND MAINTAINING THE POLITICAL SUPPORT BASE FOUNDATION IN ANG THONG PROVINCE

Abstract

The objectives of this mixed methods study were to investigate: (1) the level of social support, attitudes towards death, and death preparation behavior; (2) the relationship between social support, death attitude, and death preparation behavior; and (3) viewpoints of social support, death attitude and death preparation behavior among Kasetsart University students. The study sample comprised 140 undergraduate students at Kasetsart University Bangkhen Campus, Academic Year 2022. Of these, 120 participants were recruited by quota sampling for quantitative study, and data were collected using questionnaires. The quantitative data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient. Next, 20 volunteer participants were selected by purposive sampling for in-depth interviews. The qualitative data collected were analyzed using content analysis. The results indicate a high level of students’ social support (M= 3.68, SD=0.55), and moderate levels of attitude toward death and death preparation behavior (M= 3.17, SD=0.73 and M=2.83, SD=0.52, respectively). Moreover, death attitude had a moderate positive correlation with death preparation behavior (r=.53, p<.05), while there was no relationship between social support and death preparation behavior, nor between social support and death attitude. Furthermore, the in-depth interview on social support revealed that social support helps students to improve their death preparation behavior, and the most important sources of social support are family and friends. Students hold different ideas about life after death and contemplation of death, but most students perceive death as a natural thing that happens in life. Most participants have a positive perception toward death preparation behavior and believe that if they were prepared for death, they would live a happier life. However, most of them have not yet engaged in death preparation.