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Social Characteristics of Psychological Distress in a Disadvantaged Urban Area of Kazakhstan

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Abstract

The present study aimed to systematically assess the association of socio-economic characteristics and psychological distress in a disadvantaged urban area of a post-Soviet Republic. Psychological distress was assessed in a random sample of 200 persons, aged 18–57, living in a disadvantaged urban area of Kazakhstan using the General Health Questionnaire with 28 items (GHQ-28). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine the association of social characteristics and psychological distress. Female gender (P < 0.05), living without a partner (P < 0.01), higher age (P < 0.01), unemployment (P < 0.01), and low perceived income (P < 0.05) were associated with psychological distress in multivariate analyses. Non-Kazakh ethnicity (P < 0.05) was linked with psychological distress in bivariate analyses. The educational level was not significantly associated with psychological distress. Women, aged 38–57, living without partner and with low access to financial resources, were at a very high risk of psychological distress. Possibly due to social drift or status inconsistency, higher educational levels were not associated with lower levels of psychological distress in the disadvantaged area.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the grant KAZ 09/002 of the International Bureau of the German Ministry of Education and Research IB-BMBF and by the grant A/10/02492 of the German Academic Exchange Service and the Open Society Institute (DAAD/OSI) awarded to YI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Skills, Psychotherapy, General and Medical Psychology, Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    Yuriy Ignatyev, Marat Assimov & Dauren Dochshanov

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Yuriy Ignatyev, Andreas Ströhle, Andreas Heinz & Adrian P. Mundt

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Clínico Universidad de Chile, Santos Dumont 999, Independencia, Santiago, Chile

    Adrian P. Mundt

  4. Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    Adrian P. Mundt

Authors
  1. Yuriy Ignatyev
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  2. Marat Assimov
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  3. Dauren Dochshanov
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  4. Andreas Ströhle
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  5. Andreas Heinz
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  6. Adrian P. Mundt
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Correspondence to Adrian P. Mundt.

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Ignatyev, Y., Assimov, M., Dochshanov, D. et al. Social Characteristics of Psychological Distress in a Disadvantaged Urban Area of Kazakhstan. Community Ment Health J 50, 120–125 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-013-9610-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-013-9610-x

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