Кто и почему в Москве напивается в стельку

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The harmful effects of alcohol consumption are not necessarily limited to the amounts consumed. Drinking in binges is a specific feature of Russian alcohol consumption that may be of importance even for explaining the current mortality crisis.

Based on interviews conducted with a stratified random sample of 1190 Muscovites in 2004, this paper examines binge drinking in relation to the respondents’ economic situation and social relations. Consistent with prior research, this study provides further evidence for a negative relationship between educational level and binge drinking. Our results also indicate a strong but complex link between economic strain and binge drinking.

Jukkala, et al. Economic strain, social relations, gender, and binge drinking in Moscow. Social Science & Medicine, Volume 66, Issue 3, February 2008, Pages 663-674

Comments

Conclusions

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In sum, gender is of primary importance for understanding the relations between economic strain, social relations, and binge drinking in contemporary Russia. Men with economic problems drink heavily; women with economic problems drink less. Married men drink as much as their non-married friends, married women substantially less. Women's drinking is concentrated in the context of friends, while men's occurs everywhere.

Gender specifies the relationships, implying that the determinants of heavy drinking in Russia must be interpreted gender-wise. Thus, the opposite associations seen between economic strain and binge drinking among men and women might partly explain the extremely large gender gap in Russian mortality statistics.

Finally, the development of drinking patterns as indicated by this study is very worrying as both women and young people of both sexes now seem to be drinking more than they did previously—which bodes ill for the future in terms of alcohol-related problems in Russia.