Relationship Between Alcohol Use and Family Characteristics, Violence and Coping Strategies in a Community-Based Sample of Ukrainian Women

Introduction: In Ukraine, the largest country in Europe and the fifth drinking nation in the world (WHO, 2011), alcohol consumption is one of the leading factors contributing to mortality (Meslé et al., 2012). In past studies, treatment of individuals with alcohol abuse was more effective with involvement of intimate partners and family members (O’Farrell & Clements, 2012) suggesting relationship between drinking and family emotional processes. Evidence also pointed to alcohol use as avoidant form of coping (Lynne et al., 1992). Finally, unemployment (Crawford et al., 1987) and intimate partner violence (IPV) (Clark & Foy, 2000) were predictive of alcohol use. We examined relationship between frequency of alcohol use among Ukrainian women and family characteristics, exposure to IPV, employment status and coping strategies.

Methods: A community-based sample that was interviewed in this study included 294 women between the ages 17 and 55 years (M = 37.05, SD = 5.79) of whom 93.5% were Ukrainian, 5.4% were Russian and 1.1% had other ethnicity. The dependent variable was a frequency with which women consumed any alcohol beverage during last year. Independent variables included family cohesion, flexibility of roles and rules, quality of communication among family members, problem-focused coping and coping by distancing, and frequency of physical assaults during past 12 months. Control variables were family income and employment status. 

Results: In this study, 92.5% of women reported at least one drinking occasion during last year. On average, women consumed alcohol 173 times a year (SD = 261.84). Thirty percent of women were unemployed. Stepwise regression results indicated that drinking frequency was significantly related to higher disengagement between family members (B = 10.23, p < 0.001), lower enforcement of family roles and rules (B = –7.91, p < 0.01), being unemployed (B = –89.18, p = 0.001), reliance on avoidant coping strategies (B = 64.85, p < 0.05), lower use of problem-focused coping (B = –73.61, p < 0.05), and experiencing more physical abuse by the partner (B = 14.12, p < 0.001). Quality of communication and family income were not significant predictors. The final model explained 35% of the variance in the frequency of participants’ alcohol use. 

Conclusions: Study results suggest factors for prevention of female alcohol abuse at society-, family- and individual-level. While society needs to improve policy and programming to create jobs, women could benefit from help in mastering job-searching and effective coping skills. Prevention efforts should also target family-level factors and increase the sense of togetherness among family members, help family members maintain stability of family roles and rules. Finally, families should be offered interventions to eliminate IPV.