Electronic Cigarette Use Among Adolescents in the Russian Federation.

BACKGROUND: Information on e-cigarettes among youth in the Russian Federation is lacking. OBJECTIVE: We examined prevalence of and factors associated with youth e-cigarette use in the Russian Federation. METHODS: A cross-sectional, anonymous survey, conducted among 716 (females 51.5%) high school students in three cities (i.e., Ufa, Sterlitamak, Karagaevo) within the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russian Federation in 2015, assessed e-cigarette use and its correlates (i.e., sex, age, ethnicity, family structure, parents' highest degrees, antisocial behaviors, stress coping strategies, lifetime cigarette, hookah, alcohol, and marijuana use). RESULTS: Lifetime use of e-cigarettes was 28.6% and past-30-day use was 2.2%. Multilevel modeling showed that belonging to Tatar/Bashkir ethnicity relative to Russian ethnicity (OR = 1.60) and lifetime use of cigarettes (OR = 21.64), hookah (OR = 4.21), and alcohol (OR = 1.90) was associated with greater odds of lifetime use of e-cigarettes. Furthermore, use of social support coping strategies (i.e., utilizing parents for support) were associated with lower odds of lifetime use of e-cigarettes (OR = 0.94). CONCLUSIONS: Despite high lifetime e-cigarette use, past-30-day use was low. Greater knowledge of the reasons for e-cigarette discontinuation through continued surveillance is needed in the Russian Federation. Social coping strategies involving parents may inform e-cigarette use prevention.

Spirituality and substance use in a sample of Russian adolescents.

AIM: The aim was to examine the effects of spirituality on recent cigarette and alcohol use, intentions to use cigarette and alcohol, and perceived risks of cigarette/alcohol use in a sample of Russian adolescents. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were obtained from 362 10th graders from Ufa, Russia. RESULTS: Adolescents scoring higher on spirituality were significantly more likely to report lower levels of intentions to use cigarettes or alcohol. However, spirituality was not associated with recent cigarette/alcohol use or perceived risks. Analyzed separately for ethnic Russians and non-Russians, the relationship between spirituality and intentions were significant only among ethnic non-Russians. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggests that the protective effects of spirituality on substance use may not be universal and may depend on subjects' national, ethnic, or religious background.

Health-as-a-value, spirituality, and cigarette and alcohol use among Russian high school students.

National estimates suggest that the prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use is higher among adolescents in Russia than among adolescents in the United States and other European countries. However, research on the psychosocial correlates of, as well as protective factors for, tobacco and alcohol use among Russian adolescents has been relatively limited. Research conducted primarily in the United States has shown that spirituality and health-as-a-value are plausible predictors of adolescent substance use. However, these constructs have not been extensively studied in regions outside the United States. In this study, we tested whether spirituality and heath-as-a-value had protective effects on past-month cigarette and alcohol use behaviors and next-year cigarette and alcohol use intentions among Russian high school students (N = 354, mean age = 15.7 years), after controlling for known predictors of adolescent substance use such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, peer substance use, and sensation seeking. We found a significant inverse relationship between health-as-a-value and recent cigarette and alcohol use as well as future cigarette use intentions. However, we did not find a significant relationship between spirituality and any substance use variables. Implications of these findings for school-based substance use prevention are discussed.

Hookah Use among Russian adolescents: Prevalence and correlates.

Hookah use among adolescents is increasing globally. No prior studies in the published literature have examined hookah use among youth in the Russian Federation. We assessed demographic, psychological and behavioral factors associated with lifetime and past 30-day hookah use among Russian youth. This cross-sectional study was conducted in three areas of Bashkortostan, Russia. In 2015, we surveyed Russian high school students (n = 716) on socio-demographic characteristics, tobacco (cigarettes, e-cigarettes, hookah) and drug use (alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs), coping strategies, and getting in trouble (self and/or family). We estimated hookah use prevalence and performed bivariate analyses prior to fitting two multilevel models evaluating lifetime and past 30-day hookah use. Within this sample, 34.92% and 9.36% were lifetime and last 30-day hookah users, respectively. Lifetime hookah use was associated with older age (OR = 1.29), higher anger coping (OR = 1.41), school troubles (OR = 2.30), lifetime cigarette (OR = 1.59), e-cigarette (OR = 4.62), alcohol (OR = 5.61), and marijuana use (OR = 8.05). Additionally, past 30-day hookah use was associated with older age (OR = 1.71), lifetime use of alcohol (OR = 5.39), school troubles (OR = 5.82), and anger coping strategies (OR = 1.40). Hookah use is currently high among Russian youth in Bashkortostan and is associated with other risky behaviors. Effective interventions targeting multiple substances and coping strategies are needed. Social media campaigns encouraging cessation and advocating against its use at home may be beneficial in curbing hookah use among youth.

Social self-control, sensation seeking and substance use in samples of US and Russian adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the relations of social self-control and sensation seeking with substance use across samples of US and Russian adolescents. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were obtained from 362 tenth-graders from Ufa, Russia, and 965 tenth-graders from California. RESULTS: Lack of social self-control was significantly related with higher alcohol and hard drug use in the Russian sample and higher cigarette use in the US sample. Higher sensation-seeking showed significant associations with higher cigarette and alcohol use in the Russian sample and higher alcohol, marijuana, and hard drug use in the US sample. CONCLUSION: As with US adolescents, prevention programs for Russian adolescents may also benefit from being tailored to higher sensation-seekers and including self-control skills training.

Peer group self-identification in samples of Russian and U.S. adolescents.

Most peer group self-identification research has been conducted in the United States. This article examined the generalizability of self-identified group name research among teens in Ufa, a city in the Russian Federation. A cross-sectional, anonymous collection of data on group self-identification, drug use, addiction concern, sensation seeking, and self-rated school performance was collected from 365 10th grade youth in Ufa and 965 10th grade youth in the United States. The results supported the existence of peer group self-identification by youth in both countries and, in general, replicated the findings that youth who self-identify as a High Risk Youth, are relatively likely to use drugs, show greater concern about becoming an addict, report a greater sensation seeking preference, higher levels of depression, and poorer school performance. Implications of these results are discussed.

Concurrent predictors of cigarette and alcohol use among U.S. and Russian adolescents.

In the present study, we describe correlates of 30-day cigarette and alcohol use among two samples of high school students, one in the Russian Federation (n = 365), and one in the United States (n = 965). The correlates used in the analyses are based on the theory of triadic influence, which organizes predictors of adolescent substance use into three distinct types of influence. Overall, correlates from each of the types of influence were significant predictors of substance use in both samples. The most consistent positive predictors of cigarette and alcohol use across countries were friends' substance use and sensation seeking behavior. Perceived harmfulness of drug use was negatively associated with cigarette and alcohol use in both samples. Having a substance abuser in one's family was negatively associated with alcohol use in the Russian sample, but positively associated with alcohol use in the U.S. sample. In general, similar patterns of relationships between predictors and substance use were seen across both countries.

CONCURRENT PREDICTORS OF DRUG USE CONSEQUENCES AMONG U.S. AND RUSSIAN ADOLESCENTS.

We describe correlates of drug use-consequences related variables (addiction concern, problem consequences, and drinking alcohol/using drugs while driving) among two samples of high school students, one in the Russian Federation (n = 365), and one in the United States (n = 965). The correlates used in the analyses are based on the Theory of Triadic Influence, which organizes predictors of adolescent substance misuse into intrapersonal (e.g., depression), cultural/attitudinal (e.g., perceived harmfulness of drug use), and interpersonal (friend and family drug use) types of influence. We examined measures from each type of influence, along with drug use (cigarette and alcohol use) as correlates. Overall, correlates from each of the types of influence were significant predictors of substance use consequences variables in both samples. The most consistent predictors of consequences across countries were depression, perceived harmfulness of drug use, family substance abuser, friends' substance use, and last 30-day cigarette use. These results suggest that the Theory of Triadic Influence is relevant to both countries. We speculate that drug prevention efforts may share common features among some U.S. and Russian youth populations.