茶行裡的檳榔客：嚼食檳榔的社會脈絡初探

Areca Quid Chewing Customers in a Teashop: A Contextual Analysis of Areca Quid Chewing

郭淑珍(Shu-Chen Kuo) ； 丁志音(Chih-Yin Lew-Ting)

《台灣社會研究季刊》 63期 (2006/09) Pp. 143-208

https://doi.org/10.29816/TARQSS.200609.0004

摘要

嚼食檳榔與口腔癌的關係，近年來已成為公共衛生領域內重要的議題。本文探討嚼食檳榔行為是如何發生在人們日常生活中。研究者以某茶行嚼食檳榔的客人為主要研究對象，以深入訪談、觀察、與非正式訪問等方法，分析其在不同時間、不同場合時檳榔使用的情形。本研究發現，檳榔有時被當作社會中的溝通系統，藉由它與他人建立起某種型態的社會關係；檳榔的使用雖可當成社會互動的媒介，但是另一面也是社會價值的表達和社會位置的象徵，許多嚼食檳榔者對於「嚼食檳榔」或「檳榔」仍有許多「顧忌」，可見使用檳榔的社會場合，暗含著社會的區隔。過去台灣公共衛生有關檳榔的研究，主要是調查研究嚼食檳榔的盛行率與社會人口特質的關係，或者是有關嚼食檳榔的認知、態度與行為的相關性等。基本上這些觀點仍將嚼食檳榔的行為朝向「個人化」歸因，較忽略社會脈絡面向對嚼食檳榔的影響。本研究認為嚼食檳榔議題不只是一種「獨立」的「行為」，健康相關行為是實踐在個人日常生活的社會脈絡，社會結構的限制會影響健康相關行為的選擇，公共衛生對健康相關行為研究需有社會學觀點，如此形成的健康促進理論與政策才能更有用。

關鍵字

精神作用物質 ； 嚼食檳榔 ； 社會脈絡 ； 健康相關行為

並列摘要

Recently, the relationship of areca quid chewing and oral cancer has become an important issue in public health. This paper concerns the behavior of areca quid chewing in people's everyday lives. Data are collected from some areca quid chewing customers from a teashop. Via intensive interview, observation and informal interview, we study these areca quid chewers' experiences and explore the different social context that the behavior is embedded. What have learned from the participants is that areca quid chewing is a social activity, the consumption of areca quid is a vehicle for social interaction, and that differential use serves to create social distinction and values. Most public health researches in Taiwan focus on the prevalence of areca quid chewing, the chewers' demographic characteristics, or the relationship of knowledge, attitude and behavior towards areca quid. Those studies tend to view areca quid chewing as a function of individual risk behaviors and ignore its social context. Our study aims to provide public health professionals with a new perspective to investigate health-related behavior. We suggest areca quid chewing cannot be treated as an isolated ”behavior”. Rather, it operates within the world of structured contexts determined by individual chewers' social position. Individual health-related behavior choices are constrained within a broader social structure. The finding provides a sociological perspective in public health research, and holds implications for health promotion polices and theories.

並列關鍵字

psychoactive substance ； areca quid chewing ； social context ； health-related behavior

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