Adolescent risk behaviors and religion: Findings from a national study

Abstract

Too few studies have assessed the relationship between youth risk behaviors and religiosity using measures which captured the varied extent to which youth are engaged in religion. This study applied three measures of religiosity and risk behaviors. In addition, this study ascertained information about youths' participation in religious activities from a parent or caretaker. Based on a national random sample of 2,004 teens (ages 11-18), this study indicates that youth perceive religion as important, are active in religious worship and activities, and further shows that perceived importance of religion as well as participation in religious activities are associated with decreased risk behaviors. Looking at ten risk behaviors, religiosity variables were consistently associated with reduced risk behaviors in the areas of: smoking, alcohol use, truancy, sexual activity, marijuana use, and depression. In the case of these six risk variables, religiosity variables were significantly associated with reduced risk behaviors when controlling for family background variables and self esteem. The study highlights the importance of further understanding the relationship between religious variables, background variables, self esteem, and youth risk behaviors. AbstractToo few studies have assessed the relationship between youth risk behaviors and religiosity using measures which captured the varied extent to which youth are engaged in religion. This study applied three measures of religiosity and risk behaviors. In addition, this study ascertained information about youths' participation in religious activities from a parent or caretaker. Based on a national random sample of 2,004 teens (ages 11-18), this study indicates that youth perceive religion as important, are active in religious worship and activities, and further shows that perceived importance of religion as well as participation in religious activities are associated with decreased risk behaviors. Looking at ten risk behaviors, religiosity variables were consistently associated with reduced risk behaviors in the areas of: smoking, alcohol use, truancy, sexual activity, marijuana use, and depression. In the case of these six risk variables, religiosity variables were significantly associated with reduced risk behaviors when controlling for family background variables and self esteem. The study highlights the importance of further understanding the relationship between religious variables, background variables, self esteem, and youth risk behaviors. In addition, a relatively consistent proportion of youth (three in ten) reported that religion played a very important role in their lives (Johnson, Bachman, and O'Malley (1976-1995).However far more youth report that religion is just "important" in their lives: Cnaan, Gelles, and found in a national representative sample of over 2,000 teens (aged 11 to 18) that the majority of youth reported that religion is important in their lives (83.7%). The BarnaResearch Group (1999Group ( , 2000 reported that over half of you...

Popularity, likeability, and risk-taking in middle adolescence

“…Two items measured aggressive behaviours; namely, fighting verbally [36] and physically [9] with peers. Four items measured antisocial activities; namely, skipping class [37], vandalising property [37], stealing or shoplifting [18], and breaking school rules for no specific reason. Four items measured substance-related risks; namely, smoking cigarettes [15,20], drinking alcohol with the intention of becoming drunk [26,36,37], smoking marijuana [20], and taking ecstasy.…”

“…Four items measured antisocial activities; namely, skipping class [37], vandalising property [37], stealing or shoplifting [18], and breaking school rules for no specific reason. Four items measured substance-related risks; namely, smoking cigarettes [15,20], drinking alcohol with the intention of becoming drunk [26,36,37], smoking marijuana [20], and taking ecstasy. Three items measured road safety; namely, riding a bicycle without a helmet [34], traveling in a car without a seat-belt [26,38], and traveling in a car where the driver was unsafe [26,36,38], with examples of speeding or driving while intoxicated provided.…”

A religiosidade, a espiritualidade e o consumo de drogas

“…Dez anos depois, seguindo os mesmos padrões metodológicos, esse fato também se verificou em um estudo realizado entre adolescentes que viviam nos Estados Unidos (Sinha et al, 2006).…”

Changing God’s Expectations and Women’s Consequent Behaviors – How ISIS Manipulates “Divine Commandments” to Influence Women’s Role in Jihad

“…Although different religious denominations have different effects on people's attitudes towards risk, the simple fact of being religious seems to increase the likelihood of risk aversion (Noussair, Trautmann, Van de Kuilen, & Vellekoop, 2013). The importance attributed to religion and participation in religious activities are also consistently associated with reduced risky behaviors (Sinha, Cnaan, & Gelles, 2007). Along similar lines, several studies have shown that, when primed with the idea of god or other spiritual terms, individuals are more likely to be prosocial (Shariff & Norenzayan, 2007) and less likely to engage in immoral actions such as cheating in an exam (Shariff & Norenzayan, 2011).…”