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The social determinants of adolescent smoking in Russia in 2004

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of adolescent smoking in the Russian Federation and examine what factors are associated with it.

Methods

Data were drawn from Round 13 of the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) carried out in 2004. The sample consists of 815 adolescents (430 boys, 385 girls) aged 14–17 years who answered questions about their health behaviours.

Results

Smoking was more prevalent among boys than girls (26.1 vs. 5.7%). Maternal smoking and adolescent alcohol use were associated with smoking among both sexes. The self-assessment of one’s socioeconomic position as unfavourable was associated with girls’ smoking, while living in a disrupted family, physical inactivity and having a low level of self-esteem were predictive of boys’ smoking.

Conclusions

The family environment appears to be an important determinant of adolescent smoking in Russia. In particular, boys and girls may be modelling the negative health behaviour lifestyles of their parents, with unhealthy behaviours clustering. Efforts to reduce adolescent smoking in Russia must address the negative effects emanating from the parental home whilst also addressing associated behaviours such as alcohol use.

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Acknowledgments

The funding for this research was provided by the Swedish Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies (project grant ‘Unhealthy Societies?—Studies of Population Health Determinants in Russia and the New EU Member States’).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Social and Economic Studies of Population, Russian Academy of Sciences, 32 Nakhimovskii Prospect, Moscow, 117218, Russia

    Olga Kislitsyna

  2. Stockholm Center on Health of Societies in Transition (SCOHOST), Södertörn University, 141-89, Huddinge, Sweden

    Andrew Stickley

  3. Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

    Andrew Stickley

  4. School for Health, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 5AX, UK

    Anna Gilmore

  5. European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition (ECOHOST), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK

    Martin McKee

Authors
  1. Olga Kislitsyna
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  2. Andrew Stickley
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  3. Anna Gilmore
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  4. Martin McKee
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Correspondence to Olga Kislitsyna.

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Kislitsyna, O., Stickley, A., Gilmore, A. et al. The social determinants of adolescent smoking in Russia in 2004. Int J Public Health 55, 619–626 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-010-0196-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-010-0196-6

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