Factors associated with alcohol consumption among early adolescents in a province in Eastern region of Thailand: a cross-sectional analysis

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was applied to obtain factors associated with alcohol consumption since information among early adolescents in Thailand is limited. Data was collected from December 2016 to March 2017. A questionnaire was developed through a literature review and tested for validation and reliability. Multi-stage random sampling was used to recruit youths aged 10–14 years from Chonburi Province, Thailand. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), Chi-squared test, and multivariable logistic regression were used for data analysis. The mean and standard deviation (SD) for the age of participants was 12.07 years (1.42) with 50.23% being male. In total, 10.94% reported drinking alcohol in the past 12 months. Current drinking in the past year was positively associated with older youths of 14 years of age (AOR = 5.34, 95% CI = 2.91–9.81) having a positive attitude toward alcohol consumption behavior (AOR = 4.18 95% CI = 3.36–5.21), direct observation of friends’ drinking (AOR = 4.21, 95% CI = 3.32–5.32), direct observation of villagers/community members’ drinking (AOR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.15– 3.48), adolescents whose parents stored alcohol at home (AOR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.06–1.55), and being exposed to alcohol advertising (AOR = 1.60, 95% CI =1.16–2.23). The factor most inversely associated with current drinking appears to be male gender (AOR = 0.78, 95% CI =0.64–0.94). Strategies for delaying and reducing drinking among early adolescents should accompany these risk factors into any preventive programs.

Keywords:

• Early adolescence
• lcohol
• actors associated
• nderage drinking
• Thailand

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to the participants who have participated in this study. We would also like to thank the community nurses and schoolteachers in Chonburi province for their contribution to the study

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).