Citation

Sirirassamee T, Sirirassamee B. Asia Pac. J. Public Health 2014; 27(1): 76-84.

Affiliation

Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1010539514548759

PMID

25183211

Abstract

This study aims to establish the prevalence of risky health behaviors among Thai youth and to characterize the prevalence of these behaviors by gender, age group, educational status, and region. We analyzed data from a population-based, nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of 938 youth aged between 13 and 24 years, sampled from Bangkok and 4 regions of Thailand. The 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System questionnaire was used to measure youth risk behaviors. This study finds that 15.9% of respondents had engaged in physical fights, and 8.1% had been cyber bullied. The prevalence of current cigarette smoking, alcohol, and marijuana use were 22.3%, 27.9%, and 2.3%, respectively. The prevalence of risky behaviors among Thai youth were found to be high, including behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence, unsafe sexual behaviors, and cigarette and alcohol consumption.

Language: en