GENDER, CULTURE, AND ALCOHOL: A MULTI-NATIONAL STUDY

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The International Research Group on Gender and Alcohol (IRGGA) consists of more than 100 alcohol researchers from countries who study gender-related influences on alcohol use and alcohol problems. Work in IRGGA over the past eight years has shown that international comparative research on gender and alcohol would be greatly enhanced by coordinated alcohol surveys using standardized measures. This application requests developmental funding to plan and coordinate a multi-national study of gender and alcohol that will assemble and analyze data from standardized measures in at least 32 independently funded surveys in at least 28 different countries. Specific aims of the proposed study include: (1) direct comparisons of drinking patterns between men and women within countries, as well as among prevalence of alcohol-related problems between men and women within countries, as well as among women and among men of differing countries; (3) cross-national comparisons of correlates of women?s and men?s heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems based on a substantial battery of variables found to be associated with heavy and problematic drinking among women (including family factors; social networks; sexuality and intimacy; relationship violence and sexual abuse; employment experiences; social roles; health behavior and lifestyle); (4) societal-level analyses of associations between women?s and men?s drinking behavior and types of drinking cultures (e.g., "wet" vs. "dry"), and between women?s and men?s drinking behavior and societal gender inequality; and (5) development of improved culture- and gender- sensitive measures of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Considerable groundwork for the project has been completed, including obtaining funds for support of European Union members of the study, and (through our partnership with the World Health Organization) obtaining funds to support the participation of 8 or 9 developing countries. The three years of developmental funding requested here will provide critical support - - not available elsewhere - for centralized coordination of the complex multi-national study, for recruiting additional countries (in particular, developing countries), and for planning and carrying out coordinated data preparation, data synthesis, and data analysis. A multi-national study of gender, culture, and alcohol can be a key to better understanding how gender and culture interact to influence how similarly or differently women and men drink across the globe. The knowledge gained from the proposed study can help to better target and specify national and international alcohol abuse prevention, intervention, and policy efforts for both women and men.