Title: Buddhism and Adolescent Alcohol Use in Thailand
One of the five precepts of Buddhist belief cautions against the use of intoxicants. Ninety-five percent of the Thai population claims to be Buddhist. Among a sample of 2,064 Thai secondary school students aged 14 to 18 in grades equivalent to US 10 through 12, 97 percent claimed to be Buddhist. This paper explores the relationship of Buddhist beliefs to alcohol use patterns and alcohol expectancies in this sample of young people. Earlier fieldwork led to the development of a Thai version of the adolescent alcohol expectancy questionnaire. Of the Buddhist students, 61.5% defined themselves as not strict practitioners of Buddhism, and 38.3% defined themselves as strict, participating regularly in ceremonies. Strict and non-strict practitioners did not differ significantly in alcohol expectancies, age of first drink, drinking during the last 30 days or the last 12 months or binge drinking. These findings are discussed in terms of their significance in understanding Thai adolescent alcohol use and in planning health education programs.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, the participants in the session will be able to: 1) Describe how Buddhist beliefs effect adolescent alcohol use 2) Explain why Buddhist beliefs did not effect alcohol expectancies 3) Discuss four ways Buddhist beliefs can be accommodated in planning health education programs
Keywords: Adolescents, International, Alcohol Use
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.