Marja Holmila | PubMed Health

PubMed2005

The impact of a self-help pamphlet on reducing risk drinking among 30- to 49-year-old men in Helsinki, Finland.

This study evaluates the impact of a self-help pamphlet designed to support self-control of drinking. It was conducted in Helsinki, Finland, in 2001 and 2002 and focused on men between 30 and 49 years of age. The respondents were randomly selected in an intervention and a control area and compared with each other before and after the intervention using independent samples (N = 4418) The results support previous findings showing that interventions like this serve as a supplement to other prevention and early treatment measures. Although the results were encouraging, there is a need for more in-depth studies in the field.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Gender differences in drinking: why do they still exist?

AIMS: The paper discusses the kinds of reasoning that have been presented as possible mechanisms and reasons for gender differences in alcohol consumption. DESIGN AND METHODS: An overview of the existing literature from different countries is presented. FINDINGS: The existing studies provide a picture of great cultural variance in patterns of alcohol use among men and women. The gender differences in drinking behaviour have been shown to be linked with many aspects of biological differences between men and women leading to women's greater vulnerability to alcohol, of women's and men's differing needs, reasons and motivations in relation to drinking, of gender-specific roles in other areas of life and of ways in which societies regulate peoples' behaviour, often giving women the role of warden or moderator of others' drinking. CONCLUSIONS: The gender differences in drinking behaviour continue to be considerable and are found in all cultures studied so far. Several studies have argued for reasons underlying these differences, but they still remain largely unexplained.

Alcohol Drinking↗