Drinking Behavior among Female High School Students in Central Thailand
Wisit Chaveepojnkamjorn DVM, DrPH*, Natchaporn Pichainarong DrPH**
Affiliation : * Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand ** Faculty of Public Health, Mahasarakham University, Mahasarakham, Thailand
Objective : To study the drinking behavior and factors associated with drinking among female High School
students in central Thailand.
Material and Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 6,176 female students from central Thailand,
who were classified into 2 groups according to their alcohol drinking practices in the past year (yes = 612,
no = 5,564). Information was collected by an anonymous self-reporting questionnaire which consisted of
2 parts: socio-demographic factors, and alcohol drinking behavior during the past year from December 2007
to February 2008. Descriptive statistics, a chi-square test and multiple logistic regression were used to
analyze the data.
Results : Of all these respondents 9.91% admitted to drinking alcohol. Most of the students were 15 years old
or younger (61.80%). Univariate analysis revealed that socio-demographic factors such as age, educational
level, residence, grade point average (GPA), having a job for earning money, and having family members with
alcohol or drug problems were significantly associated with the student alcohol drinking (p < 0.05). Multiple
logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for age, showed that only four factors were associated with
alcohol consumption: the educational level (OR mathayomsuksa 5 = 3.39, 95% CI = 1.55-7.41; OR
mathayomsuksa 3 = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.71-3.09), residence in a private dormitory (OR = 3.32, 95% CI = 1.01-
10.27) and family members with alcohol or drug problems (OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.43-2.08), and a GPA
greater than 3 (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.58-0.86) (p < 0.05). The following for drinking practices were
considered as inappropriate drinking behavior (20% drank over 2 times a month, 40% drank greater than 2
standard drinks each time, nearly 47% had experienced binge drinking, and one third had experienced
drunkenness).
Conclusion : The results suggested that preventive measures for alcohol abuse among female high school
students should consider the educational level, residence within a private dormitory and family members with
alcohol or drug problems. Continuous insistence regarding the disadvantages of alcohol to risk groups
would reduce the proportion of new and current drinkers.
Keywords : Drinking behavior, Female high school students, Central Thailand
