Adolescent religiousness and its influence on substance use: preliminary findings from the Mid-Atlantic School Age Twin Study

Differences between White and Black young women in the relationship between religious service attendance and alcohol involvement

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

We examined the associations of religious attendance during childhood (C-RA) and adulthood (A-RA) with alcohol involvement (ever drinking, timing of first alcohol use, and alcohol use disorder [AUD]) in White and Black female twins. As genetic and environmental factors influence religious attendance and alcohol involvement, we examined the extent to which they contribute to their association.

METHODS

Data on 3,234 White and 553 Black female twins (18-29 years) from the Missouri Adolescent Female twin Study. Significant correlations between C-RA or A-RA and alcohol involvement were parsed into their additive genetic, shared environmental, and individual-specific environmental sources.

RESULTS

C-RA was associated with ever drinking and timing of first alcohol use in Whites. A-RA was associated with ever drinking and AUD in both Whites and Blacks. Shared environmental influences did not contribute to alcohol or religiosity phenotypes in Blacks. In Whites, the association between C-RA and alcohol was due to shared environmental influences, whereas the association between A-RA and alcohol was attributable to additive genetic, shared environmental, and individual-specific environmental sources. Individual-specific environment and genetics contributed to associations between A-RA and ever drinking and AUD, respectively, in Blacks.

CONCLUSIONS

Factors other than C-RA contribute to lower rates of alcohol involvement in Blacks. Shared environment does not contribute to links between A-RA and alcohol involvement in Blacks.

SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE

The protective impact of childhood religiosity on alcohol use and misuse is important in Whites and is due to familial factors shared by religiosity and alcohol involvement. (Am J Addict 2017;26:437-445).

Cooccurrence des croyances religieuses, superstitieuses et de type délirant

Il existe peu de données expérimentales faisant le lien entre les croyances religieuses, superstitieuses et de type délirant, malgré que ces croyances aient un point commun : le fait qu’elles reposent sur peu ou pas de preuves. Ceci suggère qu’elles pourraient partager un mécanisme cognitif commun et donc être observées chez les mêmes individus. Pour tester cette dernière hypothèse, nous avons fait remplir des questionnaires d’idées de type délirant, de religiosité, et de superstition à 95 participants sans antécédents psychiatriques. Globalement, les croyances superstitieuses corrèlent positivement avec les croyances religieuses et les idées de type délirant et tendent donc à apparaître chez les mêmes individus. Cependant, les idées de type délirant ne sont que partiellement liées aux croyances religieuses. La relation entre les idées de type délirant et la religiosité demeure ambiguë.

Genetic and environmental predictors of latent trajectories of alcohol use from adolescence to adulthood: a male twin study

BACKGROUND

Adolescence is characterized by higher levels of novelty-seeking and risk-taking behavior, including initiation of alcohol use. Also, there is considerable heterogeneity in the change and continuity of alcohol use over time, which emphasizes the need to examine factors predicting alcohol use and the patterns of use over time.

METHODS

Retrospective data on average monthly alcohol use and risk and protective factors were obtained through interviews and questionnaires in 1,560 adult male twins. Latent class growth analysis in Mplus was performed on data of alcohol use over ages 15 to 36. Second, logistic regression analyses were used to associate risk and protective characteristics with membership in distinct latent trajectories of alcohol use.

RESULTS

Six trajectories of alcohol use were identified, varying in the level of alcohol use, the rate of change in use in early adolescence and the persistence of use into adulthood. Genetic risk of externalizing disorder and peer deviance showed the greatest risks for unfavorable alcohol trajectories with higher levels of use and higher rates of early increase in use. Parental monitoring and involvement in social activities showed protective effects. Involvement in religious activities was strongly associated with reduced persistence of high-level drinking in univariate but not multivariate regression analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Risk and protective factors impacted differentially on level of alcohol use, rate of increase in use during adolescence, and persistence of heavy alcohol use over time. Insight into the different ways in which predictors impact on alcohol use is relevant for the development of new intervention strategies. For this purpose, causality of the associations should be further examined.

Humane Orientation as a New Cultural Dimension of the GLOBE Project

We validate, extend, and empirically and theoretically criticize the cultural dimension of humane orientation of the project GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program). Theoretically, humane orientation is not just a one-dimensionally positive concept about being caring, altruistic, and kind to others as discussed by Kabasakal and Bodur (2004), but there is also a certain ambivalence to this concept. We suggest differentiating humane orientation toward in-group members from humane orientation toward out-group members. A multicountry construct validation study used student samples from 25 countries that were either high or low in humane orientation ( N = 876) and studied their relation to the traditional GLOBE scale and other cultural-level measures (agreeableness, religiosity, authoritarianism, and welfare state score). Findings revealed a strong correlation between humane orientation and agreeableness, welfare state score, and religiosity. Out-group humane orientation proved to be the more relevant subfacet of the original humane orientation construct, suggesting that future research on humane orientation should make use of this measure instead of the vague original scale. The ambivalent character of out-group humane orientation is displayed in its positive correlation to high authoritarianism. Patriotism was used as a control variable for noncritical acceptance of one’s society but did not change the correlations. Our findings are discussed as an example of how rigid expectations and a lack of tolerance for diversity may help explain the ambivalent nature of humane orientation.

Are perceived stress, depressive symptoms and religiosity associated with alcohol consumption? A survey of freshmen university students across five European countries

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of perceived stress, depressive symptoms and religiosity with frequent alcohol consumption and problem drinking among freshmen university students from five European countries.

METHODS

2529 university freshmen (mean age 20.37, 64.9% females) from Germany (n = 654), Poland (n = 561), Bulgaria (n = 688), the UK (n = 311) and Slovakia (n = 315) completed a questionnaire containing the modified Beck Depression Inventory for measuring depressive symptoms, the Cohen's perceived stress scale for measuring perceived stress, the CAGE-questionnaire for measuring problem drinking and questions concerning frequency of alcohol use and the personal importance of religious faith.

RESULTS

Neither perceived stress nor depressive symptoms were associated with a high frequency of drinking (several times per week), but were associated with problem drinking. Religiosity (personal importance of faith) was associated with a lower risk for both alcohol-related variables among females. There were also country differences in the relationship between perceived stress and problem drinking.

CONCLUSION

The association between perceived stress and depressive symptoms on the one side and problem drinking on the other demonstrates the importance of intervention programs to improve the coping with stress.

The relationship between spirituality and religiosity on psychological outcomes in adolescents and emerging adults: a meta-analytic review

The present study used meta-analytic techniques to examine the association between spirituality and religiosity (S/R) and psychological outcomes in adolescents and emerging adults. The outcome measures of risk behavior, depression, well-being, self-esteem, and personality were examined with respect to the influence of S/R across 75 independent studies encompassing 66,273 adolescents and emerging adults extracted from electronic databases between 1990 and 2010. Results showed significant main effect sizes of S/R with several outcomes: risk behavior, -.17; depression, -.11; well-being, .16; self-esteem, .11; and the personality measures of Conscientiousness, .19; Agreeableness, .18; Openness, .14. Moderating effects were found for age, race, and type of S/R measure. Results show that S/R has a positive effect on psychological outcomes in adolescents and emerging adults. Possible explanations and implications of these results are discussed.

Genetic and environmental influences on multiple dimensions of religiosity: a twin study

In recent years there has been a renewed scientific interest in the study of religiosity, including research on genetic and environmental contributions to religiosity. In this article, we investigate genetic and environmental effects on 7 religiosity factors and explore how genetic and environmental effects covary across these factors. Seven religiosity factors estimated from 78 items were examined in a sample of adult male and female twins. The 7 religiosity factors were largely influenced by additive genetic and unique environmental effects, with relatively little influence from common environmental effects. Multivariate genetic analyses found the 7 religiosity factors were influenced by 1 common additive genetic factor, 3 common unique environmental factors, and unique environmental effects specific to each religiosity factor. The results suggest that for the population studied, additive genetic and unique environmental effects largely account for the variance across the religiosity construct.

A Systematic Review of Recent Literature on Religiosity and Substance Use

This paper contains a systematic review of articles about the relationship between religiosity/spirituality and alcohol and drug use that were published between 1997 and 2006. Summaries of methodological characteristics (e.g., study design, sample size and composition, specific dimensions of religiosity, and substances investigated) and general findings of 105 studies provide an overview of the field. The association between religiosity/spirituality and reduced risk of substance use is well established, but a well defined body of knowledge on this relationship has been slow to emerge. The development of more sophisticated instrumentation to measure religiosity and spirituality, the investigation of samples that include users of major drugs of abuse, and the integration of the study of religion and drug use into the broader literature on religion and health can help the field build upon the considerable work that has been published.

Religion, spirituality, and depression in adolescent psychiatric outpatients

This study examines in a preliminary manner the relationship between multiple facets of religion/spirituality and depression in treatment-seeking adolescents. One hundred seventeen psychiatric outpatients aged 12 to 18 completed the brief multidimensional measure of religiousness/spirituality, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), a substance abuse inventory. Controlling for substance abuse and demographic variables, depression was related to feeling abandoned or punished by God (p < 0.0001), feeling unsupported by one's religious community (p = 0.0158), and lack of forgiveness (p < 0.001). These preliminary results suggest that clinicians should assess religious beliefs and perceptions of support from the religious community as factors intertwined with the experience of depression, and consider the most appropriate ways of addressing these factors that are sensitive to adolescents' and families' religious values and beliefs.

Religious involvement and its association to risk behaviors among older youth in foster care

This study examined religious involvement and its association to risk behaviors (sexual behavior, marijuana use, alcohol use, and cigarette use) among older youth in foster care (N=383). Three dimensions of religious involvement were assessed-church or religious service attendance, religious practices, and religious beliefs. Findings showed that gender, ethnic group membership, sexual abuse history, and placement type were significantly associated with older foster care youth's religious involvement. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses showed that religious service attendance was associated with reduced odds of youth's engagement in sexual behavior in the past 2 months and current use of cigarettes. In addition, greater religious beliefs were associated with a reduction in odds of youth's use of alcohol in the past 6 months and current use of cigarettes. The consideration of religious involvement as a positive influence and resource that may reduce unhealthy risk behaviors among older youth in foster care is discussed.