Background. Impaired ability to regulate the emotional state is significant both in the onset of alcohol addiciton and in its course. Despite the fact that it is generally accepted to consider alcoholism from the point of view of the biopsychosocial paradigm, cross-cultural studies of the individual psychological properties of patients with alcoholism are extremely few.

The Objective of the research was to analyze strategies and methods of emotional regulation within alcoholism in the residents of St. Petersburg (Group 1) and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (Group 2). Research hypotheses: there are regional and national differences in the emotional regulation strategies; emotional regulation strategies may occur due to socio-cultural factors.

Design. The research involved patients who were treated with drug at St. Petersburg Bekhterev Research Psycho-Neurological Institute (St. Petersburg Bekhterev NIPNI) and Yakutsk Republican Drug Dispensary. The sample included persons aged 18 to 70 years old diagnosed with alcohol addiction syndrome (F10.2) in accordance with ICD-10 and fluent in Russian. In total, 60 people took part in the study, 30 of them were residents of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region (Group 1), 30 people are residents of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (Group 2).

Results. Significant regional differences were found in the use of the cognitive strategy of emotion regulation “positive reavaluation” (p = 0.01) in the residents of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region and residents of Yakutia. The basic strategy of emotional regulation is “suppression of expression” (p = 0.02), and also such difficulties of emotional regulation as “aversion of emotional reactions” (p = 0.002), “difficulties in showing impulsive reactions” (p = 0.007), “limited array of strategies emotional regulation ”(p = 0.003) are characteristic of residents of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). They reflect the cultural-based features of the northern peoples that are expressed in emotional restraint, propensity to suppress emotions and feelings.

Conclusion. The study of emotional regulation in alcohol pathology in reference to national and regional affiliation of individuals is of fundamental importance for solving problems in the field of ethnic psychology and psychiatry. In order to effectively provide medical, psychological and psychotherapeutic care to patients with alcohol addiction and other forms of addictive disorders it is necessary to take into account national and regional characteristics that can be an internal resource for the success of the assistance provided.

The aim of this research is to establish relationships between the levels of operational system elements (classification, seriation, understanding of the conservation principle and the ability to decenter) on the concrete operational thinking fledging period in preschool children from two different countries: Russia and China. Classic techniques of Piaget were used to diagnose development levels of subject’s operational system structural elements. Development stages of classification and seriation of logical operations, understanding the conservation principle, the ability to decenter were compared in the 40 Russian and 40 China preschool children (3.1-6.5 years). No statistically significant differences in terms of development of all the examined elements were revealed in children from Russia and China (Mann-Whitney U test). Statistically significant positive correlation relationship is found between the levels operational system elements in the Russian and Chinese samples (ρ Spearman; p < 0.01). It is concluded that the subjects of the Russian Federation and China do not surpass each other in terms of developing the classification, seriation, understanding the conservation principle and the ability to decenter. The subject’s operational system elements function and develop interdependently in Russian and China preschoolers, so if one level of the system elements rises it is accompanied by increasing of other elements. Summing up, the subjects of the Russian Federation and those of China do not surpass each other in terms of developing the classification, seriation, understanding the conservation principle and the ability to decenter. There are no statistically significant differences in configurations of operational system elements under the transfer from the pre-operational stage of thinking development to concrete operational one between the preschool children of different cultural-social conditions (Russia, China). This emphasizes the fact that the spontaneous processes of shaping and development of logical thinking operational system is universal. Besides, the system of logical operations functions under the inherent laws of system development when transferring from pre- operational development stage to the concrete-operational.