Factors of the gap between environmental concern and behavior among urban residents in Russia

This article examines the phenomenon of the “attitude—behavior gap” — the discrepancy between environmental concern and actual individual behavior, using the example of five consumer practices among urban residents in Russia. The aim of the work is to empirically assess the scale of this discrepancy and to identify socio-demographic, psychological, and behavioral factors that determine it. The empirical basis is data from the online survey “Economic behavior of households”, which represents urban population of Russia with internet access, aged 18 and over. Through a series of multinominal logistic regressions, the study has found that despite the high level of environmental concern among urban Russians, engagement in specific practices remains low and selective. The influence of sociodemographic factors was mixed: of the significant predictors, age of 25—44 consistently increased the odds of a gap, while family income, education, and psychological distress were significant only for certain practices. A positive association was found between news consumption and environmental engagement; however, both traditional and new media were associated with inconsistent bridging the gap across different practices. To promote actions in the field of environmentally conscious consumption, it is necessary to reduce behavioral barriers and develop practical competencies among the population.