Gender Differences in Drinking Patterns among Hong Kong Chinese Youth: a Pilot Study

Abstract

About one year before the People's Republic of China regained political control of Hong Kong, a semistructured interview study was conducted among a group of 101 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents to explore their drinking behavior. The purpose of this exploratory study was to look for empirical evidence confirming the general hypothesis that wherever Chinese reside, they are moderate drinkers. Specifically, the study was designed to examine whether male and female adolescents gave different reasons for their drinking and nondrinking behavior, were differentially affected by parents' drinking, and experienced differential consequences resulting from alcohol use. The results confirm that Chinese youth in Hong Kong are moderate drinkers. Only minimal differences exist between the genders. The traditional Chinese normative view of alcohol may partly explain the results, an observation that suggests future research into the sociocultural features that influence drinking among youth.

Key Words:

• Gender
• Cultural values