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Buddhism, the Thai state religion, teaches that use of intoxicants should be avoided. Nonetheless, many Thai people drink alcohol, and a proportion are alcohol-dependent or hazardous or harmful drinkers. This study examines the relationship between Buddhist upbringing and beliefs and alcohol use disorders in Thai men. Three groups, comprising 144 non/infrequent/light drinkers, 77 hazardous/ harmful drinkers and 91 alcohol dependents were interviewed regarding their early religious life and current religious practices and beliefs. No protective association was shown between early religious life and later alcohol use disorders; indeed, having lived as a boy in a temple for a period was commoner in those with adult alcohol problems. Few subjects reported frequent involvement in current religious activities (9, 8 and 6% in the non/infrequent/light drinkers, hazardous/harmful drinkers, and alcohol dependents respectively). Hazardous/harmful drinkers [odds ratio (OR) = 0.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.2–0.9] and alcohol dependents (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.2–0.9) were less likely to report being moderately to strongly religious, than were non/infrequent/light drinkers. Understanding the association between religious beliefs and drinking behaviour can potentially assist in the development of prevention and treatment programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aims: To identify influences on the development of alcohol use disorders in a Thai population, particularly parental drinking and childhood environment. Design: Case–control study. Setting: A university hospital, a regional hospital and a community hospital in southern Thailand. Participants: Ninety‐one alcohol‐dependents and 77 hazardous/harmful drinkers were recruited as cases and 144 non‐ or infrequent drinkers as controls. Measurements: Data on parental drinking, family demographic characteristics, family activities, parental disciplinary practice, early religious life and conduct disorder were obtained using a structured interview questionnaire. The main outcome measure was the subject's classification as alcohol‐dependent, hazardous/harmful drinker or non‐/infrequent drinker. Findings: A significant relationship was found between having a drinking father and the occurrence of hazardous/harmful drinking or alcohol dependence in the subjects. Childhood factors (conduct disorder and having been a temple boy, relative probability ratios, RPRs and 95% CI: 6.39, 2.81–14.55 and 2.21, 1.19–4.08, respectively) also significantly predicted alcohol dependence, while perceived poverty and ethnic alienation was reported less frequently by hazardous/harmful drinkers and alcohol‐dependents (RPRs and 95% CIs = 0.34, 0.19–0.62 and 0.59, 0.38–0.93, respectively) than the controls. The relative probability ratio for the effect of the father's infrequent drinking on the son's alcohol dependence was 2.92 (95% CI = 1.42–6.02) and for the father's heavy or dependent drinking 2.84 (95% CI = 1.31–6.15). Conclusions: Being exposed to a light‐drinking father increases the risk of a son's alcohol use disorders exhibited either as hazardous–harmful or dependent drinking. However, exposure to a heavy‐ or dependent‐drinking father is associated more uniquely with an increased risk of his son being alcohol‐dependent. The extent to which this is seen in other cultures is worthy of exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol problems have increased considerably in Thailand in recent years, in common with many other countries in South East Asia. Little is known about the patterns or contexts of alcohol consumption in these countries, and so efforts to develop preventative strategies have been hampered. To identify current patterns related to alcohol consumption, we recruited 91 alcohol-dependent subjects, 77 hazardous or harmful drinkers, and 144 abstainers or light drinkers. A structured interview incorporating the World Health Organization ‘tri-level’ method to determine the amount and frequency of drinking, and the Alcohol Use Disorders and Associated Disabilities to diagnose alcohol dependence and harmful drinking was used. Median alcohol intake was 75 and 49 g/drinking day in the alcohol-dependent and harmful or hazardous groups respectively. The former group drank on average 25 days/month, whereas the harmful or hazardous drinkers drank 10 days/month. Drinking alone was more common in the alcohol-dependent group (67%), whereas harmful or hazardous drinkers typically drank with friends (58%), and infrequent drinkers drank only at social functions (61%). Only 28% of alcohol-dependent subjects perceived themselves as dependent on alcohol. The alcohol-dependent subjects and hazardous or harmful drinkers were more likely to currently smoke cigarettes and have a history of marijuana use than were non-drinkers, infrequent or light drinkers. Antisocial personality disorder was more commonly associated with alcohol dependence. In conclusion, alcohol dependence was characterized by continual drinking, whereas hazardous or harmful consumption was associated with an intermittent pattern. Other forms of substance use and personality disorder were associated with alcohol dependence. Clearer understanding of these factors would be of great benefit in planning an intervention programme for excessive drinking in Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Buddhism, the Thai state religion, teaches that use of intoxicants should be avoided. Nonetheless, many Thai people drink alcohol, and a proportion are alcohol-dependent or hazardous or harmful drinkers. This study examines the relationship between Buddhist upbringing and beliefs and alcohol use disorders in Thai men. Three groups, comprising 144 non/infrequent/light drinkers, 77 hazardous/ harmful drinkers and 91 alcohol dependents were interviewed regarding their early religious life and current religious practices and beliefs. No protective association was shown between early religious life and later alcohol use disorders; indeed, having lived as a boy in a temple for a period was commoner in those with adult alcohol problems. Few subjects reported frequent involvement in current religious activities (9, 8 and 6% in the non/infrequent/light drinkers, hazardous/harmful drinkers, and alcohol dependents respectively). Hazardous/harmful drinkers [odds ratio (OR) = 0.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.2-0.9] and alcohol dependents (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.2-0.9) were less likely to report being moderately to strongly religious, than were non/infrequent/light drinkers. Understanding the association between religious beliefs and drinking behaviour can potentially assist in the development of prevention and treatment programmes.