Sexual Behaviors in Thai Adolescents

As in many other countries, sexual risk behaviours in Thai teenagers have increased and they have sexual intercourse at an earlier age. Although in Thai traditional culture premarital sex is not accepted, today’s teenagers in Thailand are embarking on sexual relationships outside the boundaries of marriage. This has been attributed to the increasing influence of western ideas brought by industrialisation and urbanisation (Rasamimari et al., 2007).

The proportion of teenage mothers in Thailand has increased from 10.4% to 12.4% between 2000 and 2003 (Thato et al., 2007). A study by Isaranurung et al. (2006) found that 13.3% of all Thai pregnancies occurred in women under 20 years of age and the highest percentage of teenage pregnancies was found in North-Eastern region of the country (18%). Higher rates of low birth weight infants were also found in teenage mothers when compared to mothers aged 20 years and over (15.1% vs. 8.8%). In addition, a study that focused on the incidence and complications of teenage pregnancy, found 20% of teenage mothers to give birth prematurely compared to 13.5% mothers over the age of 20. Similarly, the percentage of mothers with anaemia is higher in teenagers (17%) than in adults (11%) (Watcharaseranee et al., 2006).

A study of 362 teenagers, 10th to 12th grades, in Bangkok found that 25.4% of male teens as well as 7.9% of female teens had experience of coitus and that 9.7% reported homosexual experience (O-Prasertsawat & Petchum, 2004). Based on a study of 832 Thai female vocational students Allen et al (2003) indicate that the average age of first coitus was 17.6 years and that 48 % of male students and 43% of female students who had experienced sexual intercourse reported not using contrac...

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...study of sexual risk behaviours in teenagers in rural Thai society is required. Potential problems areas become instantly visible. For example, in rural Thailand the contraception unit of public health officers is regarded by the public as a service for married people, usually women, which means that teenagers of both sexes feel that they are unable to approach these professionals for contraception advice and assistance (Thato et al., 2003). Family planning programmes in Thailand have succeeded in reducing fertility for married women, whereas unmarried women have been neglected and access to reproductive health services remains limited (UNFPA, 2005). This resulted in the frequent appearance of complications caused by chemically-induced unsafe abortions by unlicensed practitioners, which is still a major public health problem in Thailand (Warakamin et al., 2004).