Does "being connected" reduce the risk of teenage drinking, smoking and drug use? : survey results from Southeast Asia

Abstract

In many Asian societies, the shift from traditional agriculture toward an industrial, export-based economy has brought about dramatic changes in the lives of young people. Prolonged schooling, employment opportunities outside the home, and delayed marriage have created a population of "young singles" unheard-of a few decades ago.

Increasingly urban, educated, affluent, and exposed to mass media, will young people in Southeast Asia experience similar health and behavioral problems as their counterparts in the West? The question is particularly important today because the recent shift from high to low fertility has produced a temporary, but significant "youth bulge" in the region. Between 1970 and 1990, the population age 15-24 in Southeast Asia rose from 43 to 72 million. This age group is projected to increase to 92 million by 2025. This issue of Asia-Pacific population & policy discusses factors that may influence teenage drinking, smoking, and drug use, based on youth surveys in Thailand and the Philippines.