Relationship of Religiosity and Spirituality to Hazardous Drinking, Drug Use, and Depression Among Sexual Minority Women

Abstract

Using data from Wave 3 of the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women (CHLEW) study (N = 699) we explored whether religiosity and spirituality were associated with risk of hazardous drinking, drug use, and depression among sexual minority women (SMW; lesbian, bisexual) and possible differences by race/ethnicity. Participants were more likely to endorse spirituality than religiosity, and endorsement of each was highest among African-American SMW. We found no protective effect of religiosity or spirituality for hazardous drinking or drug use. An association initially found between identifying as very spiritual and past year depression disappeared when controlling for help-seeking. Among SMW with high religiosity, African-American SMW were more likely than White SMW to report hazardous drinking. Latina SMW with higher spirituality were more likely than White SMW to report drug use. Results suggest that religiosity and spirituality affect subgroups differently, which should be considered in future research on resiliency among SMW.

Research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among sexual minority women: A global scoping review

“…There is a need to more systematically examine similarities and differences in factors, such as marriage, that are typically identified as protective against hazardous drinking and drug use among heterosexual women. For example, although affiliation with religions that discourage alcohol use has a protective effect against hazardous drinking among women in general population studies [130,172], this relationship was not evident in a study cited in the current review and religiosity was not protective in a study using data from the CHLEW published after May 2017 [173]. It would be helpful to better understand the effects of religion and religiosity on AOD use among SMW as this may be a key influence on substance use, especially in conservative regions of the world.…”

Identity Integration as a Protective Factor against Guilt and Shame for Religious Gay Men

“…Emerging practitioners training to work with this population may also benefit from an improved understanding of the ways in which these identities sometimes contribute to feelings or guilt of shame, which in turn negatively impact other psychological wellbeing outcomes. Drabble et al (2018) recommended that clinicians acknowledge the potential of dual identification to cause conflict, but not assume this to be the case (Hinton et al, 2019).…”

Examining the differential protective effects of women’s spirituality and religiosity on alcohol and marijuana use by sexual identity

“…Measures of religious environment also differed between the SMW and heterosexual women, which may have contributed to the different distributions of “non-affirming” attendance by sexual identity. Given research suggesting differences in perceived importance of religion and religious affiliation by race and ethnicity among SMW ( Barnes & Meyer, 2012 ; Drabble, Veldhuis, et al, 2018 ; Walker & Longmire-Avital, 2013 ), future studies might examine possible subgroup differences in the associations of religiosity and spirituality to substance use outcomes. Finally, differences between the two panel samples may have influenced the findings in the current study.…”

“…Spirituality represents an individual’s beliefs and practices related to a higher power, search for meaning, or sense of transcendence, which may be secular or linked with religion ( Aldwin et al, 2014 , Allen and Lo, 2010 ). Research suggests that sexual minorities generally consider spirituality as having greater importance in their life than religion ( Drabble, Veldhuis, et al, 2018 ; Halkitis et al, 2009 ). Relative to heterosexuals, sexual minorities are less likely to attend religious services or to consider religion as somewhat or very important in their lives ( Murphy, 2015 , Schwadel and Sandstrom, 2019 ), however these differences are smaller in relation to measures of spirituality ( Schwadel & Sandstrom, 2019 ).…”

“…Literature on the relationship between religion and/or spirituality and alcohol or marijuana use among SMW is limited and shows mixed results ( Hughes et al, 2020 , Lefevor et al, 2021 ). One study with SMW found that neither religiosity nor spirituality predicted past-year substance use outcomes of hazardous drinking (i.e., dependence symptoms, heavy episodic drinking, intoxication, adverse alcohol-related consequences) or drug use, including marijuana ( Drabble, Veldhuis, et al, 2018 ). Another study found that religiosity was protective against hazardous drinking and drug use among both SMW and heterosexual women ( Drabble et al, 2016 ).…”