Religious Involvement And Adolescent Substance Use

Religious involvement – indicated by observable feelings, beliefs, activities, and experiences in relation to spiritual, divine, or supernatural entities – is a prevalent and powerful force in the lives of American adolescents. According to national estimates, over 80% of adolescents report affiliations with religious groups (mostly Catholic and Conservative Protestant denominations), roughly 38% attend religious services at least once per week, and over 90% believe in God and Heaven (Gallup & Bezilla, 1992 ; Regnerus, 2007 ; Smith, Denton, Faris, & Regnerus, 2002) . Studies show that religious involvement is associated with a wide range of favorable adolescent outcomes, including generally healthier lifestyles, greater mental and physical well-being, conformity to rules and laws, positive family relationships, and lower rates of risky sexual practices (Regnerus, 2003 ; Smith, 2003a ; Wallace & Forman, 1998) . Given the far-reaching impact of religion in adolescence, it is not at all surprising to find that religious involvement may also promote abstinence and moderate substance use behaviors and favorable treatment outcomes. In this chapter, we provide an overview of published research on the association between religious involvement and substance use in adolescence. Although we consider the research that follows to be representative of the field, it is not intended to be exhaustive. After describing the basic association between religious involvement and substance use in adolescence, we discuss several theoretical and empirical explanations for this association. We conclude with a discussion of the strengths and limitations of prior research and several viable avenues for future research.