The effect of belonging to an alcohol-proscribing religious group on the relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and mortality

Contextual religiosity and the risk of alcohol use disorders and suicidal thoughts among adults in the united states

BACKGROUND

Suicide and alcohol use disorders (AUD) have high public health and economic costs. We investigate the relationship between religious features that are external to the individual (hereafter, contextual religiosity) and individuals' risk of AUD and suicidal thoughts.

METHODS

Data are from Wave 2 of the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (analytic N = 34,326). Regression analysis assessed whether contextual (i.e., Geographic state) religiosity and membership rates of Catholics and the three major Protestant traditions, are associated with DSM-IV AUD risk in the past 12 months and suicidal thoughts since last interview, controlling for individual and state-level covariates. In a secondary analysis, we test for interactions between individual race/ethnicity and contextual religiosity on the outcomes since prior work suggested differences by race and individual religiosity.

RESULTS

Some contextual religious variables were significantly associated with AUD risk but not suicidal thoughts. Individuals living in a state with higher membership rates of Evangelical Protestant had higher AUD risk (Adjusted Relative Risk [ARR]=1.27, 95%CI=1.08-1.49). Individuals living in states with higher membership rates of Historically Black Protestant had a lower risk of AUD (ARR=0.83, 95% CI=0.72-0.96). The interaction between individual race and contextual-level religious variables on the outcomes were not significant.

LIMITATIONS

NESARC is an observational cross-sectional so causality between religiosity and the outcomes cannot be established.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk of AUD among individuals varies depending on the religious membership rates among Protestant groups within their geographic state of residence. Contextual religiosity may impact AUD risk above and beyond one's individual religiosity.

More Than Friends and Family? Estimating the Direct and Indirect Effects of Religiosity on Substance Use in Emerging Adulthood

Religiosity tends to negatively influence substance use among emerging adults because religious communities can serve as pro-social reference groups and provide alternative resources for coping with stress and negative life events. The relationship may also be mediated, however, by differences in family attachments and drug- and alcohol-using peer associations. With data from a nationally representative panel study, I implemented longitudinal structural equation modeling to simultaneously assess both direct and indirect effects of religiosity on substance use. While a substantive portion of its effect is mediated by substance-using peers, it is mostly direct, and increasingly so as individuals transition from late adolescence to emerging adulthood. Furthermore, religion appears to be a particularly effective social institution, as religiosity decreases contemporary substance use but is not itself affected by prior substance use. Religiosity may thus be beneficial with regard to certain short- and long-term health outcomes related to substance use during emerging adulthood.

Alcohol abstention in early adulthood and premature mortality: Do early life factors, social support, and health explain this association?

OBJECTIVE

Adult alcohol abstainers have a heightened risk of premature mortality compared to light-to-moderate drinkers. We examine three plausible explanations, other than lack of alcohol, for this observed difference: Abstainers 1) have early life disadvantages that undermine long-term health; 2) lack social support; 3) are less healthy.

METHOD

In the National Child Development Study, an ongoing national British cohort study of individuals born in 1958, we investigated whether early life disadvantages, lack of social support, and poor physical health reduce or eliminate the elevated risk of mortality through age 51 among those abstaining from alcohol at age 33. Using Cox proportional hazard models in a stepwise approach we examined whether the alcohol-mortality relationship changed when potential confounders were included.

RESULTS

The risk of mortality by age 51 was greater among age-33 abstainers compared to light drinkers (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 2.18; 95% CI = 1.40, 3.40). Including early life disadvantages and social support in the hazard models did not alter these associations (HR = 2.12; 95% CI = 1.27, 3.54). Including physical health in the model resulted in a 25% reduction in risk of death among abstainers, though the difference in risk remained statistically significant (HR = 1.75; 95% CI = 1.04, 2.94).

CONCLUSIONS

Abstaining from alcohol in early adulthood, in comparison to light drinking, predicts increased risk for premature mortality, even after accounting for numerous early and young adult confounders. Future research should examine potential moderators of this association.

Health and Well-Being Among the Non-religious: Atheists, Agnostics, and No Preference Compared with Religious Group Members

Although recent research suggests that the proportion of the US population identifying as non-religious has been rapidly expanding over the course of the last decade, relatively little research has examined the implications of this development for health and well-being. This study uses data from a large representative survey study of religion and health in the adult US population (N = 3010) to examine group differences among religious group members (N = 2401) and three categories of non-religious individuals: atheists (N = 83), agnostics (N = 189), and those stating no religious preference (N = 329). MANCOVA was used to analyze group differences on five outcome dimensions, incorporating 27 outcome variables. Religious non-affiliates did not differ overall from affiliates in terms of physical health outcomes (although atheists and agnostics did have better health on some individual measures including BMI, number of chronic conditions, and physical limitations), but had worse positive psychological functioning characteristics, social support relationships, and health behaviors. On dimensions related to psychological well-being, atheists and agnostics tended to have worse outcomes than either those with religious affiliation or those with no religious preference. If current trends in the religious composition of the population continue, these results have implications for its future healthcare needs.