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Psychological distress, gender, and health lifestyles in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine

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  • Cockerham, William C.
  • Hinote, Brian P.
  • Abbott, Pamela

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between psychological distress, gender, and health lifestyles in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. These countries have been subjected to highly stressful and extensive social change associated with the transition out of communism. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews (n=10,406) in November 2001. Distress was measured by 12 psychological distress symptoms. Health lifestyles focused on measures of alcohol consumption, smoking and diet. We found that females carried a much heavier burden of psychological distress than males, but this distress did not translate into greater alcohol consumption and smoking for these women or for men. The greatest influence of distress on health lifestyle practices was on daily diets in that both less distressed females and males consumed a more balanced diet than more distressed persons. Our findings suggest that it is the normative demands of a particular lifestyle, rather than distress, that principally shapes the pattern of heavy male drinking. This is an important finding as some sources indicate heavy drinking is largely responsible for the health crisis in the former socialist states.

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  • Cockerham, William C. & Hinote, Brian P. & Abbott, Pamela, 2006. "Psychological distress, gender, and health lifestyles in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(9), pages 2381-2394, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:63:y:2006:i:9:p:2381-2394
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    4. de Goeij, Moniek C.M. & Suhrcke, Marc & Toffolutti, Veronica & van de Mheen, Dike & Schoenmakers, Tim M. & Kunst, Anton E., 2015. "How economic crises affect alcohol consumption and alcohol-related health problems: A realist systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 131-146.
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    7. Hinote, Brian Philip & Cockerham, William C. & Abbott, Pamela, 2009. "The specter of post-communism: Women and alcohol in eight post-Soviet states," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 1254-1262, April.
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    13. Kozlov, Vladimir A. & Rosenberg, Dina Y., 2018. "Institutional deficit and health outcomes in post-communist states," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 119-131.
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    15. Lackó, Mária, 2010. "A magyarországi rossz egészségi állapot lehetséges magyarázó tényezői. Összehasonlító makroelemzés magyar és osztrák adatok alapján, 1960-2004 [The poor health status of Hungarians: a comparative m," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(9), pages 753-778.
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    17. Aliaksandr Amialchuk & Kateryna Bornukova & Mir M. Ali, 2018. "Will a Decline in Smoking Increase Body Weights? Evidence from Belarus," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 44(2), pages 190-210, April.
    18. Pavel Grigoriev & Vladimir Shkolnikov & Evgueni Andreev & Domantas Jasilionis & Dmitri Jdanov & France Meslé & Jacques Vallin, 2010. "Mortality in Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia: Divergence in Recent Trends and Possible Explanations [La mortalité en Biélorussie, Lituanie et Russie: Divergence dans les Tendances Récentes et Explic," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 26(3), pages 245-274, August.
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    22. Staudigel, Matthias, 2016. "A soft pillow for hard times? Economic insecurity, food intake and body weight in Russia," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 198-212.
    23. Jukkala, Tanya & Mäkinen, Ilkka Henrik & Kislitsyna, Olga & Ferlander, Sara & Vågerö, Denny, 2008. "Economic strain, social relations, gender, and binge drinking in Moscow," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 663-674, February.
    24. Malisauskaite, Gintare & Klein, Alexander, 2018. "Drinking under communism: Why do alcohol consumption habits in Eastern Europe differ from the west in the long-run?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 821-837.
    25. Supa Pengpid & Karl Peltzer, 2021. "Prevalence and correlates of psychological distress among a national population-based sample of adults in Solomon Islands," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(6), pages 687-695, September.

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