Healthc Inform Res.  2017 Apr;23(2):109-118. 10.4258/hir.2017.23.2.109.

Using Online Respondent Driven Sampling for Vietnamese Youths' Alcohol Use and Associated Risk Factors

• Zhang MW
• Tran BX
• Nguyen HL
• Le HT
• Long NH
• Le HT
• Hinh ND
• Tho TD
• Le BN
• Thuc VT
• Ngo C
• Tu NH
• Latkin CA
• Ho RC

• KMID: 2378519
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2017.23.2.109

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The average alcohol consumption per capita among Vietnamese adults has consistently increased. Although alcohol-related disorders have been extensively studied, there is a paucity of research shedding light on this issue among Internet users. The study aimed to examine the severity of alcohol-related disorders and other associated factors that might predispose individuals towards alcohol usage in a sample of youths recruited online.
METHODS
An online cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,080 Vietnamese youths. A standardized questionnaire was used. Respondent-driven sampling was applied to recruit participants. Multivariate logistic and Tobit regressions were utilized to identify the associated factors.
RESULTS
About 59.5% of the males and 12.7% of the total youths declared that they were actively using alcohol. From the total sample, a cumulative total of 32.3% of the participants were drinking alcohol, with 21.8% and 25.0% of the participants being classified as drinking hazardously and binge drinkers, respectively. The majority of the participants (60.7%) were in the pre-contemplative stage.
CONCLUSIONS
A high prevalence of hazardous drinking was recognized among online Vietnamese youths. In addition, we found relationships between alcohol use disorder and other addictive disorders, such as tobacco smoking and water-pipe usage. Our results highlighted that the majority of the individuals are not receptive to the idea of changing their alcohol habits, and this would imply that there ought to be more government effort towards the implementation of effective alcohol control policies.

Keyword

Online; Alcohol; Youth; Vietnam

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Alcohol Drinking
Alcohol-Related Disorders
Asian Continental Ancestry Group*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Drinking
Humans
Internet
Male
Prevalence
Risk Factors*
Smoking
Surveys and Questionnaires*
Vietnam

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