Original articlePatterns of Risky Behaviors Associated with Methamphetamine Use Among Young Thai Adults: A Latent Class Analysis
Section snippets
Study participants
This cross-sectional study was conducted within a two-arm, randomized, peer outreach network trial conducted in Chiang Mai city in northern Thailand that is detailed elsewhere [28]. The 12 month trial was designed to compare the efficacy of a peer educator network-oriented intervention with a best practice standard life skills curriculum that aimed to prevent and reduce the harms associated with MA use among young adults that was individually focused. Between April 2005 and June 2006, 1,189
Results
The sample (N = 1162) was 75% male, with a median age of 19 years (IQR = 18–20 years), primarily Buddhist (97.1%), and ethnically Thai (99.2%). A majority (63.8%) reported living with their parents. Overall participants’ education level was low, with only 39% reporting being currently in school and a median 9 years (IQR = 9–11 years) of schooling. Close to one-half of the sample was employed, and about one-third reported receiving income from illicit sources. More than one-half of participants
Discussion
The current study inductively identified distinct behavioral patterns associated with MA use among a large sample of young Thai adults. We identified three patterns associated with MA use: the “high-risk class,” who use MA in association with high-risk behaviors; the “work class,” who use MA in association with functional activities such as work; and the “combination class,” who use MA in association with numerous activities including functional and high risk. The groups can be characterized by
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Drug Abuse (DA14702). We appreciate Carla Zelaya's advise on the analysis. We thank all of the participants who shared their stories and likewise thank our staff.
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Cited by (0)
Institution work should be attributed to the Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.