The socio-economic changes in Russia during the last
two decades have been associated with a sharp decline
of the health indicators in general population.
Consequently, a number of national and international
research studies have turned the attention to the
determinants of health in post communist transition.
Despite the stress-poor health relationship
identified, studies which have examined the link
between chronic social stress and mental health in
Russian population are scarce. The current study is
part of an international research project on chronic
social stress and psychological distress, which was
initiated at the University of Bergen, Norway. The
main aim of the Russian study was to explore the
relationship between chronic social stress, social
support, coping resources and distress among Russian
adults. This book provides information on the study
background and its theoretical framework, the
hypotheses and methodology of the investigation. The
findings of the research were discussed and compared
with the results of the previous investigations in
Norway and Romania.