“Attributive Style” and the Problem of Alcohol Addiction and Suicide among Numerically Small Peoples of the North and Siberia

Abstract

Available hypotheses on the high level of alcohol addiction and suicide among the indigenous peoples of the North and Siberia mainly relate these social diseases to the influence of external factors such as the state politics, economic, demographic or social-cultural situation. What is overlooked is the mechanism by which these factors influence the consciousness of indigenous people and determine behaviour patterns leading to alcohol consumption or suicide. The author argues that a part of such a mechanism may be contained within the attributive style that makes these people more pessimistically assess reasons and causes of events happening to and around them. The study is based on the results of research conducted among teenagers representing both indigenous and non-indigenous populations of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region and the Republic of Komi.