Rural–Urban Migration and Experience of Childhood Abuse in the Young Thai Population

Evidence suggests that certain migrant populations are at increased risk of abusive behaviors. It is unclear whether this may also apply to Thai rural–urban migrants, who may experience higher levels of psychosocial adversities than the population at large. The study aims to examine the association between migration status and the history of childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse among young Thai people in an urban community. A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in Northern Bangkok on a representative sample of 1052 young residents, aged 16–25 years. Data were obtained concerning: 1) exposures—migration (defined as an occasion when a young person, born in a more rural area moves for the first time into Greater Bangkok) and age at migration. 2) outcomes—child abuse experiences were assessed with an anonymous self report adapted from the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS). There were 8.4%. 16.6% and 56.0% reporting sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, respectively. Forty six percent of adolescents had migrated from rural areas to Bangkok, mostly independently at the age of 15 or after to seek work. Although there were trends towards higher prevalences of the three categories of abuse among early migrants, who moved to Bangkok before the age of 15, being early migrants was independently associated with experiences of physical abuse (OR 1.9 95%CI 1.1–3.2) and emotional abuse (OR 2.0, 95%CI 1.3–3.0) only. Our results suggest that rural–urban migration at an early age may place children at higher risk of physical and emotional abuse. This may have policy implications for the prevention of childhood abuse particularly among young people on the move

Rural-urban migration, illicit drug use and hazardous/harmful drinking in the young Thai population

AIMS: Limited data are available about whether rural–urban migration, often characterized by exposure to urban life stress and a reduction in social network and support, can affect the prevalence of illicit drug use and hazardous/harmful drinking. The purpose of our study was to examine the prevalence of these risky behaviours among Thai young adults and to describe their association between their migration status and these outcomes. DESIGN: A population-based cross-sectional survey. SETTING: A representative sample of 1052 residents, aged 16–25 years (467 males and 585 females) in a suburban community of Bangkok in 2003 and 2004. MEASUREMENTS: (i) Exposures— migration (defined as the occasion when a young person born in a more rural area moves for the first time into Greater Bangkok); and (ii) outcomes— illicit drug use was assessed with an anonymous self-report adapted from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) and hazardous/harmful drinking with Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). FINDINGS: The results showed that 10.9% (82 males and 17 females) had illicit drug use and 24.3% (179 males and 62 females) hazardous and harmful drinking. In multivariate analysis, rural–urban migration was not associated with illicit drug use, whereas hazardous/harmful drinking was associated independently with being late migrants, who moved at the age of 15 or older. CONCLUSIONS: Illicit drug use and hazardous/harmful drinking were common among young Thais. The potential effect of migration on hazardous and harmful drinking identified in this study may be helpful for the design and implementation of preventive measures

Family violence and its 'adversity package': a community survey of family violence and adverse mental outcomes among young people

BACKGROUND: Limited research has examined the relationship between common forms of family violence and their impacts. We (1) examine the co-occurrence of exposure to domestic violence (EDV) and physical abuse (PA) in childhood and their relations to intimate partner violence (IPV) in adulthood among the young Thai people, and (2) describe their associations with common adverse mental outcomes. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in a community in Bangkok on a representative sample of 1,052 young residents, aged 16–25 years. Measurements were as follows: (1) exposures—the Conflict Tactics Scales were used to assess EDV and PA in childhood and IPV in adulthood, and (2) outcomes—common mental disorder and suicidal ideation were assessed with Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised, illicit drug use with Diagnostic Interview Schedule, and problem drinking with Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. RESULTS: Those who reported EDV and PA were highly likely to report IPV (OR 9.3, 95% CI 4.4–19.4). In general, strong associations were found between exposure to each form of the violent experiences and all the adverse outcomes (adjusted odds ratios ranged from 1.7 to 5.7). Those who had been exposed to the three types of violence, compared to none, were most likely to report all the adverse outcomes (odds ratios ranged from 4.3 to 17.3). CONCLUSION: Those who had experienced both kinds of the childhood violence were particularly likely to get re-victimised later in their life. A dose–response relationship was observed between the extent of exposure to violence and the adverse outcomes. There is a need to identify and prevent these experiences and their impact on children and young people

Impairment, disability, social support and depression among older parents in rural Thailand

BACKGROUND: It is not known whether social support modifies the association between depression and impairment or disability in older people from developing countries in Asia. METHOD: We used a Thai version of the EURO-D scale to measure depression in 1104 Thai rural community-dwelling parents aged ⩾60 years. These were all those providing data on depression who were recruited as part of a study of older adults with at least one living child (biological, stepchild or adopted child). Logistic regression modelling was used to determine: (a) whether impairment, disability and social support deficits were associated with depression; (b) whether social support modified this association. RESULTS: There were strong graded relationships between impairment, disability, social support deficits and EURO-D caseness. Level of impairment, but not disability, interacted with poor social support in that depression was especially likely in those who had more physical impairments as well as one or more social support deficits (p value for interaction=0.018), even after full adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: Social support is important in reducing the association between physical impairment and depression in Thai older adults, especially for those with a large number of impairments. Enhancing social support as well as improving healthcare and disability facilities should be emphasized in interventions to prevent depression in older adults