Demography and Culture in Russia: Life History Trade-Offs in Regional Differences

This study investigates the links between life history strategy (LHS), IQ, and individualism/collectivism (IND/COL) across Russian regions. It is the first to examine regional differences in LHS, illustrating how biological trade-offs are linked to cultural values within a country and separately considering the role of cognitive abilities in this relationship. We hypothesize that cultural differences between regions can be understood through human behavioral ecology, specifically the trade-offs associated with LHS. Data from 83 Russian regions were used to create indices for slow LHS (sLHS) and IND/COL. The sLHS index included indicators like teenage fertility rates, rates of third or higher births, average height, educational attainment, and interest in human sexual behavior (using Google Trends data). The IND/COL index was constructed from indicators like the proportion of multigenerational and single-person households, divorce rates, and search data indicating ingroup identity expression. Regional IQ scores were derived from a large-scale online test administered to over 230.000 individuals across these regions. Our findings reveal strong positive correlations between sLHS, IQ, and IND/COL across Russian regions. Mediation analysis suggests that IQ likely fully mediates the relationship between sLHS and IND/COL. Geographical analysis showed clear patterns of spatial clustering, with gradients linked to latitude and altitude. Additionally, five latent regional profiles emerged from the data, indicating distinct patterns among the regions. These results, while acknowledging certain limitations, underscore the importance of LHS in understanding regional cultural differences. They also point to the need for Russian social policies to adapt to the unique characteristics of each region.