Influence of Social Cultural Capital and Marketing on Skin Whitening Products Use among Higher Education Female Students in the Northeast of Thailand

Introduction: There have been increasing trends of skin whitening products use globally. Social cultural capital has been identified as one of a significant determinants of skin whitening products use. However, there was no study on these issues in Thailand. Therefore, this study aimed to identify skin whitening products use situation and the association between social cultural capital, marketing, and skin whitening products use among female higher education students in the Northeast of Thailand. Method and Materials: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Northeast of Thailand among 1,143 female higher education students. Data was collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire. The Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) was used to identify the associations between social cultural capital, marketing and skin whitening products use when controlling other covariates. Results: Most of the respondents ever used skin whitening products (84.95%: 95%CI: 82.88–87.03), of which 52.66% (95%CI: 49.77–55.57) were current users, and 17.41% (95%CI: 15.21–19.61) were inappropriate use. The social cultural capital factor that were associated with skin whitening products use were those who were not satisfied with skin colors (Adj. OR=3.48; 95%CI=2.18–5.55; p<0.001), had friends using skin whitening products (Adj. OR=2.63; 95%CI=1.71–4.04; p<0.001, had thin to normal figures (Adj. OR=2.53; 95%CI=1.54–4.15; p<0.001), and had family members using skin whitening products (Adj. OR=1.86; 95%CI=1.10–3.15; p=0.020), studied in humanities and social sciences (Adj. OR=2.07; 95%CI=1.25–3.45; p=0.005) and product marketing (Adj. OR=1.92; 95%CI=1.15–3.20; p=0.012). Moreover, other factors that were also associated with skin whitening products use were family monthly income. Conclusion: Majority of the higher education female students were current skin whitening products users of which about one-sixth was inappropriate users. Both social cultural capital, marketing had influence on skin whitening products use.