Chronic social stress and psychological distress in Russia

The data for this study were collected in a cross-sectional population-based survey in 2003. A second wave of data was collected from the same participants several months later, but only the cross-sectional data are included in this thesis, to ensure a manageable thesis. The study population was a random sample of 970 men and women aged 25-29 and 40-44 years. The self-administered questionnaire included four measures of psychological distress, three measures of stress, five measures of social coping resources and two measures of intrapersonal coping resources. The response rate was 69% (665 respondents). The scale assessing chronic social stress had six items. About 85 percent of women and 84 percent of men reported experiencing at least one of the six stressors and about 44 percent of women and 39 percent of men reported three or more stressors. Women reported significantly higher prevalence (p