The goal of the proposed research is to examine the risk factors that influence SES differentials in health behaviors and morbidity among working age adults in Russia. Specific research questions address social class differences in the exposure to health risks, and the relative importance of these risk factors on health behaviors and morbidity. Results from this analysis will show cross-sectional variation in the prevalence of morbidity across socioeconomic groups in Russia, and the social processes that underlie these differences. Qualitative data on health perceptions, attitudes and behaviors will first be collected in focus group interviews to identify the nature of these interrelationships with respect to socioeconomic status, and to facilitate the design of valid and reliable health indicators for a survey instrument to be implemented in Spring 1996. Measures of socioeconomic attainment appropriate to Russia will also be designed, cognizant of the incongruence among conventional SES measures in representing command over resources in Russia.
