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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Laura E. House, PhD, Social Work, Washington University, Washington University, Campus Box 1196, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, (301) 443-3706, pfischer@samhsa.gov
Given the myriad social problems and risks facing African American youth, growing attention has turned to the identification of factors that provide protection against these risks and other negative outcomes. Historically, religion and spirituality have provided social service activities, social support, and empowerment for African Americans (Brown, Ndubuisi & Gary, 1995; Lincoln & Mamiya, 1990). This study explores the role of religion and spirituality as protective factors against mental health and substance use in African American youth. A sample of 1,271 African American adolescents between seventh and twelfth grades from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health is examined. Religiosity is measured through three items: 1) frequency of church attendance, 2) involvement in church youth groups, and 3) importance of religion; and spirituality is measured through one item: 1) frequency of prayer. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) is used to measure depression and three items are used to measure substance use: 1) marijuana smoking over the past year; 2) alcohol consumption more than two to three times; and 3) regular cigarette smoking. Linear and logistic regression analyses revealed that religiosity was not significantly associated with depression but it was associated with marijuana use (p<.01), cigarette use (p<.01), and alcohol use (p<.05). Similarly, spirituality was not associated with depression, but it was associated with alcohol use (p<.05) and marijuana use (p<.001). With the emerging interest in faith-based initiatives, these results provide insight into the role of religiosity and spirituality in developing policies, programs, and research on mental health and substance use among African American youth.
Learning Objectives:
Awards: The Kenneth Lutterman Award for Exemplary Student Papers in Mental Health - Honorable Mention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.