Effect of working status on tobacco, alcohol, and drug use among adolescents in urban area of Thailand

To examine the relationship between working status and behavior of substance use such as tobacco, alcohol, and drug among adolescents, a survey of 215 students in the seventh to ninth grades was conducted in urban area of Thailand. The sample consisted of 100 workers (46.5%) and 115 nonworkers (53.5%). The percentages of participants with some experiences of smoking, drinking alcohol, and drug use were 17.2%, 48.8%, and 3.3%, respectively. The participants with experiences of smoking and drinking alcohol in the working group were significantly higher than in the nonworking group (P<0.001), while the relationship between working status and drug use was weaker than the other relationships between working status and tobacco or alcohol use. The backward logistic regression analysis was refined until it included three independent variables: tobacco use, alcohol use, and household income. On the other hand, it was found that working condition, including working hours and working at night, had little impact on smoking, drinking alcohol, and drug use. However, the type of job was significantly related to tobacco use (P<0.05) by binary analysis and multiple regression analysis. These findings suggest that employment of young adolescents in urban area of Thailand has an influence on smoking and drinking alcohol. Especially, working status probably affect smoking behavior among young adolescents in the urban area of Thailand.