God forbid! Substance use among religious and nonreligious youth.

Abstract

Among a predominately Mexican and Mexican American sample of preadolescents, religiosity protected against lifetime alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use and recent alcohol and cigarette use when religious affiliation was controlled. When religiosity was controlled, however, adolescents with no religious affiliation and adolescents who were religiously affiliated reported similar substance use outcomes. Interaction effects demonstrated that the protective effect of greater religiosity operated more strongly in some religions than in others for selected outcomes. Overall, the impact of religiosity on reported drug use did not differ significantly for more and less acculturated Latino youth. Keywords adolescents; drug use; religiosity; Mexican American; acculturation Adolescence is a life period marked by significant personal and social changes that are associated with unacceptably high substance use rates (Johnston, O'Malley, & Bachman, 1998a, 1998b. Initiation into substance use at this age is of special concern given that early drug use places an individual at greater risk for later use (M. A. Miller, Alberts, Hecht, Trost, & Krizek, 2000). Yet adolescence is also a period of attachment transitions and religious changes (Granquist, 2002). Compared with adults, adolescents are more likely to be searching for purpose and identity (L. Miller, Davies, & Greenwald, 2000). In this search, religion may be a source for information or answers, providing guidelines for behavior and opportunities for prosocial interaction.Religion has been identified as having a protective effect against substance use, including for youth (Wallace & Bachman, 1991). Yet further research is needed to understand how religion affects adolescents as they experience multiple developmental and social changes. Although religiosity and religious affiliation have each been associated with youth substance use outcomes, still relatively little is known about the relationship between these two NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript phenomena and about how this relationship may influence adolescent substance use. Furthermore, little is known about how the influences of religion and acculturation combine in the life of Latino adolescents in the Southwest, many of whom come from immigrant families. This article focuses on the protective effects of religion, exploring the influence of religiosity within certain religious affiliations and across levels of acculturation, using a predominately Mexican and Mexican American sample of adolescents. The two hypotheses of the study are that religiosity and religious affiliation will have a protective effect on the drug use behaviors and norms of preadolescents in the Southwest and that acculturation will mediate the effect of religion. Literature Review ReligiosityReligiosity is a multidimensional construct referring to a person's behavioral and attitudinal religious fervor, regardless of the content of his or her beliefs (Amey, Albrecht, & Miller, 1996). The literature ...

Religiosity, alcohol use attitudes, and alcohol use in a national sample of adolescents.

“…Research has consistently shown that more religiosity deters substance use (e.g., Marsiglia et al, 2005). The current study utilizes Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecology of human development to conceptualize the interrelationships between religiosity, alcohol use attitudes, and alcohol use.…”

“…One reason for this may be that religion represents a salient aspect of African American culture (Hines & Boyd-Franklin, 2005). Religiosity has also been found to protect against substance use (Marsiglia et al, 2005;Walker, Ainette, Wills, & Mendoza, 2007;Wallace et al, 2003). Park and colleagues (2001) found that participation in religious activities predicted less alcohol use RELIGIOSITY AND ALCOHOL USE ATTITUDES…”

Complex Interaction of Religiousness with other Factors in Relation to Substance Use and Misuse Among Female Athletes

“…Smoking is one of the most important health-compromising behaviors today (Sekulic and Tocilj 2006), while religiousness is found to be a protective factor against smoking in different ethnicities (Marsiglia et al 2005;Nonnemaker et al 2003;Francis and Mullen 1993). In previous studies performed on Serbian dancers of both genders, Sekulic et al (2009) found protective effects of religiousness against tobacco smoking, but in males exclusively.…”

Examining Perceived Social Support, Positive Affection, and Spirituality, as Resilience Factors, Among Boys of Drug-Dependent Fathers

“…A negative significant correlation between religiosity and drug abuse was reported in various studies. For instance, Gartnet et al (23) and Marsiglia et al (24) indicated that having religious tendencies and beliefs was associated with prevention and reduction of smoking and alcohol and drug abuse.…”

“…In the same line, the results of the current study confirmed this correlation as well. This means that religious beliefs were associated with prevention and reduction of smoking and alcohol and drug abuse (23)(24)(25)(26)(27). Accordingly, it can be concluded that increasing social support, positive affection, and spirituality plays a significant role in enhancing teenagers' resilience to drug abuse.…”