Trends in Youth Alcohol Use in Russia Based on a Long-Term Study
Researchers from the National Research University Higher School of Economics found that the share of Russians aged 14 to 22 who drink alcohol has dropped by more than half over the past decade and a half. The findings appear in the Bulletin of the National Research University Higher School of Economics and reflect data from the Russian Monitoring of the Economic Status and Health of the Population, a sustained health survey series.
The analysis was led by Valeria Kondratenko, a lecturer in the Department of Economic Sociology at the Higher School of Economics. The study drew on a long-term panel of youth covering 2006 through 2019, incorporating data from 27,638 participants to assess drinking patterns over time.
The results show a steady decline in the fraction of Russians who drink on a yearly basis, paired with a shift toward more regular consumption of nonalcoholic beverages. The pattern suggests a move away from occasional heavy drinking toward more consistent, moderate use of soft drinks and related beverages, with the consumption style gradually becoming more moderate as a norm.
Among young people aged 14 to 22, the share who report drinking alcohol has fallen by at least 30 percent since 2006. In 2006, alcohol dependence among schoolchildren aged 14 to 17 stood at about 0.5 percent, while youth aged 18 to 22 showed a rate near 5 percent. More recent data show a near elimination or a small residual rate of drinking among schoolchildren, with about 1.1 percent of those aged 14 to 17 reporting alcohol use. Beer, wine, and vodka remain the most common choices among those who do drink, though overall numbers are much lower than a decade and a half ago.
The research highlights the central role of the family environment in shaping youth drinking behavior. The analysis indicates that youths from households with missing parental presence or lower parental supervision are more likely to drink. Parental drinking patterns themselves exert influence, with a mother who drinks heavily associated with higher risk of a child engaging in alcohol use, and a father’s drinking behavior having a stronger impact on sons than on daughters. In the subset of families with only fathers present, the gender gap narrows but remains notable, with boys showing higher drinking rates than girls.
Summarizing the findings, Kondratenko notes that parental drinking habits and the overall family climate play a decisive role in whether a child might become a nonuser or a drinker. Heavier parental drinking correlates with a greater chance of a child resisting drinking compared with families where drinking is frequent or absent. These patterns underscore the influence of the home environment on youth behavior and point to potential policy and community approaches that support healthier routines for families and young people. Attribution for the study comes from RLMS-HSE data collection and analysis conducted by the Higher School of Economics research team.