The proposed study aims to systematically investigate gender differences in health and health behavior. The study capitalizes on several divergent and uniquely available datasets. Thus, it will be possible to examine gender differences within both historical and cross-cultural contexts and to identify the socio-cultural determinants of these differences. The study involves the secondary analysis of eight representative samples in the United States and Japan. Four pairs of datasets, matched by sample composition, measures and methodological procedures, allow direct cross- cultural comparisons between the United States and Japan. These datasets provide diversity in the measures of health/health behavior, research designs (cross-sectional, cohort and longitudinal) and data collection methods (interview and health diary) in a complementary fashion not previously available in prior investigations. Together they provide the basis for a comprehensive and cost-effective approach to the investigation of specific conditions affecting gender differences in health and health behavior.
Specific aims of the proposed study are to identify: 1. Gender differences in current health profiles within and across cultures. 2. Historical health trends among men and women in the United States and Japan. 3. The impact of social roles on health in different historical and cultural contexts. 4. Gender differences in various forms of illness behavior. 5. Gender differences in daily experience of illness and illness behavior reported in health diaries. 6. Gender differences in causal linkages of health and health behavior.
