The article deals with the results of the research study of four adolescent risk behaviors as health determinants: smoking, alcohol consumption, irregular eating patterns and lack of physical activity. The multinomial logistic regression analysis based on the RLMS HSE 1994—2016 data using trichotomized self-reported health status as a dependent variable has shown that the negative health impact of smoking, alcohol consumption and irregular eating patterns among girls is stronger than among boys. Girls’ odds to have deteriorated health status rise significantly after the first and third year of smoking; for boys current smoking is the most significant factor. Our qualitative research study based on 39 semi-structured interviews with adolescents living in Udmurtia and Moscow region in 2009—2012 has shown that girls tend to treat smoking and alcohol consumption by both sexes in like manner, while most boys think it is worse for girls to smoke and drink alcohol. Regular meal patterns are usually not a basic element of healthy lifestyle in the opinion of the respondents; high level of physical activity among boys, in contrast to girls, is often combined with alcohol consumption and smoking. Trying to meet educational and other requirements girls often consciously demonstrate risk behaviors; this is possibly a reason of lower health among Russian girls and women. Boys demonstrate both a lower level of responsibility for their health behaviors and attaching little importance to living longer: that could be somehow connected with the high level of male mortality in Russia.
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