The effects of religious attendance, religious importance, and gender on well-being, substance use, and academic engagement were examined among early adolescents (N = 683) from rural schools. Results indicated that females viewed religion as more important than males, although the frequency of religious attendance did not differ for males and females. Hierarchical regression results revealed that religious importance was a more prominent protective factor than attendance against substance use even after accounting for parental support; however, no links were found between religiosity and depression or self-esteem. Adolescents who reported that religion was important in their lives reported lower school misbehavior and higher motivation, although those with high religious attendance had higher grades. Interaction effects indicated that religious importance was particularly salient for males compared to females in terms of enhanced school bonding and self-efficacy.
Involvement in civic and community activities is a core part of positive youth development. Adolescents involved in voluntary civic activities have greater academic engagement, enhanced well-being, less involvement in problem behaviors, and they are more likely to value connections to their community than those who are not involved. The current research examined involvement in school and community civic activities as well as religious youth groups among 8th and 9th graders (N = 679, 61.7% female, 85.9% White) from small, rural schools in the Midwest U.S. and linked involvement to religiosity, well-being, problem behavior, academic engagement, and perceptions of parents and peers. Half of the adolescents in the sample reported involvement in civic activities or, more commonly, in religious youth groups. Adolescents who participated in religious youth groups reported more extracurriculars, less problem behavior, higher grades and motivation, and more support from parents and friends than adolescents who did not. The most frequently reported school civic activities were student council and Future Farmers of America, and 4-H was the most popular community civic activity. Those who were involved in school- and community-based civic activities reported more religiosity, academic engagement, and positive perceptions of parents and peers than uninvolved youth. The results support and extend research on rural youth by documenting civic activities across contexts and examining how involvement is associated with positive youth development.
Little is known about adolescents' caffeine use, yet caffeinated soda, and more recently coffee and energy drinks, are part of youth culture. This study examines adolescents' caffeine use and, using cluster analysis, identifies three groups of caffeine users who differed in their reasons for use, expectancies, and sleep behaviors. In this high school student sample (N = 197), 95% of participants reported recent caffeine use-most often soda-where typical first use of the day was in the evening. Results reveal that adolescents in the mixed use and high soda use groups consumed similar amounts of soda, reporting significantly more use than the low caffeine use group. In contrast with high soda users, mixed users drank more coffee, expected more dependence symptoms and energy enhancement from caffeine, and were more likely to report getting up early, daytime sleepiness, and using caffeine to get through the day.
This study examined patterns and predictors of volunteering among students at a liberal arts college with an institutional culture that strongly promotes community service. Results showed that predictors varied across four different types of volunteering: community service, social action, religious service, and service to the college. Year in school, academic performance, and familiarity with the college’s mission statement were the most consistent predictors, but only familiarity with the mission was significantly associated with all types of volunteering. Thus, one way to increase volunteering may be to promulgate an institutional mission statement emphasizing service to others.
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