NCJ Number
214324
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2006 Pages: 41-55
Date Published
February 2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This Canadian study examined the influence of "religiosity" (defined as church attendance) and "spirituality" (defined as personal beliefs in God or a higher power) on adolescents' "psychosocial" adjustment (ability to deal constructively with stressful situations and relationships).
Abstract
The study found that youth who regularly attended church reported fewer problems in dealing with stressful situations and relationships than youth who did not attend church regularly, regardless of level of "spirituality" (a belief in God or a higher power). Thus, spirituality may not be as strong an influence on behavior as religiosity. The secondary analyses indicated that the benefit of religiosity might not be so much due to the nature of the religion but rather to being part of a community, regardless of the nature of its purpose or character. The authors indicate that the distinctive contribution of religiosity to constructive dealing with stress is its conditioning of youth to refrain from antisocial behaviors and avoid risky situations likely to cause stress. Study participants were 6,578 youth ages 13-18, who lived in 1 school district in Ontario, Canada. The youth were administered a self-report questionnaire that obtained demographic information and measured the frequency of experiencing direct and indirect forms of bullying, the quality of peer friendships, bonding with parents, parental monitoring, academic performance and aspirations, a sense of well-being, attitudes toward engaging in unconventional and antisocial behaviors, frequency of alcohol use and cigarette smoking, frequency of attendance at religious programs and services, and belief in God or a higher power. 3 tables and 54 references