Citation

Liddon, Nicole Claudine (2000). "Green snake bitten": drinking, health lifestyles, social structure, and health in post-Soviet Russia. Master's thesis / Doctoral dissertation.

Abstract

In the years after economic and political transition, post-Soviet Russia experienced severe health declines unprecedented in modern history. This study attempted to understand this phenomenon within a sociological theory of lifestyle and the conceptual frameworks of Weber's life choices and life chances and Bourdieu's habitus and praxis . Specifically, this research tested the relative effects of structural constraints (income, education, gender, and age) and individual lifestyle behaviors (drinking, smoking, and nutrition) on the mortality and morbidity of a nationally representative sample of Russian adults. Individual behaviors of smoking, drinking, and nutrition (life choices) were not as influential as structural variables (life chances) in predicting mortality. Specifically, gender was a key variable in the models. The relationship between gender and lifestyle behaviors showed a dangerous trend toward heavy consumption of alcohol and cigarettes among a younger cohort of women. This is discussed within feminist theory of gender and power.

Reference Type

Thesis

Year Published

2000

Author(s)

Liddon, Nicole Claudine