Purpose: To explore the betel nut chewing prevalence among students, analyze the probability and the odds ratio of ex-chewers and current chewers, as well as the correlation between parental behavior characteristics and those of adolescents chewing betel nut.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was designed and 10,288 Taiwanese students answered the questionnaires in 2002. A structured questionnaire included information about betel nut chewing behavior among the adolescent students, sociodemographic data, and the betel nut chewing practice among parents or classmates. Samples were randomly chosen from each cluster of different types of schools in various areas. Three different grade levels of the first, second, and third grade (ages 16-18 years) were selected. Frequency distribution was used to analyze the prevalence among adolescent students, and Chi-square tests were used to compare the differences of betel nut chewing behavior among genders and the effect of parental behavior and socioeconomic factors. Logistic regression was used to analyze the odds ratio of the prevalence of adolescent students' betel nut chewing in the different types of schools and by gender.
Results: When the parents' marriage was not successful, or was of a lower social status, a higher incidence of adolescent betel nut chewing was observed. It was easy to experience betel nut chewing in adolescence if either parent chewed betel nut. The prevalence of betel nut chewing among male students was higher than female students and among vocational school students than general school students. The odds ratio of agricultural school students to general school students was highest of all the ex-chewers and current chewers from different types of schools.
Conclusions: Betel nut chewing behavior is related to the effect of parental behavior on adolescent students. Apparently, it is indicated that there is a significant intergenerational effect of the parent's behavior on their children's behavior.