earticle

영어

There is growing evidence that substance use such as tobacco or alcohol consumption influences health disparity among adolescents. Previous research papers have shown an inconsistency in the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and substance use in adolescents. However, little is known about socio-economic differences in unhealthy behaviors among Korean adolescents. The purpose of the present study is to explore associations between SES and substance use in Korean adolescents. The analysis was performed using data from the 2009 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (YRBS), which included a nationally representative sample of middle and high school students. Drinking/heavy drinking and smoking/daily smoking behavior indices were used for dependent variables, and perceived economic status, family affluence score, parents' education were used for independent variables. Chi-square test were used to compare tobacco and alcohol consumption among 3 SES groups. Logistic regression models were used to identify statistically significant socio-economic factors after adjusting other covariates. Higher perceived economic status and higher family affluence were associated with higher rates of smoking, daily smoking, drinking, and heavy drinking, while lower level of parents' education was related to higher use of tobacco and alcohol. Socio-economic status significantly influences health behaviors in adolescents, and it may consequently affect health disparity in their adulthood. Therefore, there is a need of continuous monitoring and follow-up research of health disparity among adolescents.