Religious Affiliation, Informal Participation, and Network Support Associated With Substance Use: Differences Across...

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Established links between religious involvement and reduced substance use.
• Limited research on religious affiliation, informal participation, and network support across age groups.
• Need to understand these factors' impact on alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use.

Purpose of the Study:

• Examine associations between religious affiliation, informal participation, and network support with substance use.
• Compare these effects in young (21-30) and late middle-age (50-70) adults.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the UC Berkeley Social Networks Study (Wave 1, 2015).
• Analyzed young (n=483) and late middle-age (n=673) adult cohorts.
• Employed Poisson and logistic regression models for substance use prediction.

Main Results:

• Young adults: Religious affiliation linked to less substance use; informal participation linked to more alcohol/marijuana use.
• Social network support: Wishing for more people to talk to/get together with associated with more smoking/drinking.
• Social support for help: Wishing for more people to ask for help associated with less overall substance use.
• Older adults: Religious involvement linked to less alcohol/marijuana use; seeking help linked to less marijuana use.

Conclusions:

• Informal group participation among young adults encourages social substance use.
• Older adults' greater involvement in religious groups promotes non-substance-related social behaviors.
• Religious affiliation and specific types of social support differentially impact substance use across age cohorts.