Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 21, 2025

Author Spotlight: Understanding Adolescent Social Adversity Effects on Neurodevelopment in Mice
Published on: March 15, 2024
Unpacking the role of adolescent religious affiliation in youth outcomes
Sam A Hardy1, McKay Morgan1, Jenae M Nelson2
1Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.
Introduction:
The purpose of this study was to unpack the role of adolescent religious affiliation in positive and negative youth outcomes.
Methods:
We used data from Wave 1 (2002-2003) of the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). Participants were a nationally representative sample of 3290 adolescents from across the United States. Measures were adolescent-report or parent-report items of religiousness (individual religiousness, family religiousness, peer religiousness, and religious community supportiveness) and youth outcomes (future orientation, grades, community involvement, alcohol use, sexual activity, and depression).
Results:
First, ANOVAs revealed that four dimensions of religiousness (individual religiousness, family religiousness, peer religiousness, and religious community supportiveness) and five youth outcomes (future orientation, grades, community involvement, alcohol use, and sexual activity, but not depression), varied significantly across religious affiliation. Second, regressions examining direct effects found that the multicategorical nominal variable of religious affiliation predicted all outcomes except alcohol use and depression after accounting for the four dimensions of religiousness. Third, each of the four dimensions of religiousness mediated relations between religious affiliation and at least one of the outcomes.
Conclusions:
In short, religious affiliation seems to play a unique role in youth outcomes, above and beyond other dimensions of religiousness. This role of religious affiliation perhaps functions in part via individual and contextual dimensions of religiousness.
More Related Videos
06:42Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
11:12Modulation of the Neurophysiological Response to Fearful and Stressful Stimuli Through Repetitive Religious Chanting
Published on: November 4, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth....
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Emerging Adulthood