The Study on the Relationship between the Lifestyle According to His Majesty the King’s Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy and Mental Health Status: the Case Study at Bangklam District, Songkhla Province

Objective: This paper aims to examine and identify factors associated with general health status, happiness index, attitudes and behaviors according to the guideline of the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, as well as to analyze their relationship. Material and Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study; A pilot study was undertaken with the goal of developing a questionnaire to specifically examine the participants’ attitudes towards and behaviors associated with His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy. This sufficiency economy questionnaire evaluated life style, and included the Thai Mental Health Indicator (TMHI-15) for determining happiness index, and the Thai General Health Questionaire (Thai GHQ-28) for measuring general health status. The data was collected every trimester 2011. Statistical analyses was performed using multivariate logistic regression to determine independent predictors. Results: Most of the 167 participants had an average happiness index or happier than the normal population. There were 3 factors which determined the overall happiness index score: marital status, satisfaction from occupation and level of sufficiency economy adapted in the participant’s life style. The General Health Screening survey found that overall the participants had the same general health as the overall population and it was significantly related to participants and also their neighbor’s knowledge and understanding to the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy. The survey examining behaviors and attitudes towards the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy as a way of life found that most participants had a self-sufficient lifestyle. It was found that participants who lived sufficiently were 2.2 times happier than those who did not, and participants who did not live sufficiently had abnormal scores of general health screening of 1.6 times compared to those that lived sufficiently. However there was no statistical significance. Conclusion: Most of the participants in this study had an average happiness index equal to the general Thai population. They were also as healthy as the general Thai population, and lived sufficiently. As stated in this study, there was no statistically significant relationship between lifestyle according to His Majesty the King’s Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy and mental health status. Therefore, further studies were suggested.