Prevalence of unprotected motorcycle riding and its association with other risk behaviors among adolescents in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the prevalence of helmet use in Chiang Mai province in Thailand and identify the association between helmet use, externalized behaviors, and other risk-taking behaviors.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted using the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Thai version. Risky motor vehicle behaviors and other risk-taking behaviors of 4,372 adolescents were measured. Behavioral problems from the Youth Self-Report were also obtained from all participants.

RESULTS

A total of 2,981 adolescents (68.2%) reported motorcycle riding, of which, 36.3% reported unprotected riding. Females, younger age, attending secondary school, and those with academic underachievement were related to the unprotected riding group. Unprotected riding was significantly associated with other risky traffic behaviors and also related to other risk-taking behavior such as violence and substance use. Significantly higher behavioral problems scores were found in unprotected riding adolescents ( < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of unprotected riding and other risk behaviors in Thai adolescents were high. Safety traffic riding campaigns should start in late primary school focusing on those females with poor academic achievement.