Choosing Abstinence, Being Faithful or Condoms: Recent Trends in Sexual Behavior in Thailand

Aphichat Chamratrithirong, Mahidol University
Kerry Richter, Mahidol University

Although Thai society is tolerant to a variety of individual sexual practices, people still publicly express traditional values related to female virginity before marriage. The gender-based sexual double standard leads to preference for abstinence-only and be-faithful HIV prevention initiatives, particularly for adolescents. But if these programs disconnect with the current sexual situation among the new generation, they run the risk of creating an environment conducive to unsafe sex among young people. This paper investigates these issues using data from the National Sexual Behavior Survey of Thailand 2006. It explores the extent and determinants of the choice of abstinence, being faithful and condom use among younger and older male and female adults in Thailand. Besides descriptive information on the extent and characteristics of the ABC choice, multivariate analysis in the form of multinomial logistic regression models will be used to examine the key determinants of choice.