Religiosity and Adolescent Problem Behavior

宗教信仰与青少年问题行为

• 批准号: 7584023
• 负责人: Kathryn Paige Harden
• 金额: $ 2.67万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-04-27 至 2009-04-26
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7584023
• 关键词: Accounting; Acting Out; Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Alcohol consumption; Alcohol or Other Drugs use; Alcohols; Behavior; Behavioral Genetics; Belief; Biological; Buffers; Church; Coitus; Communication; Data; Empathy; Environment; Environmental Risk Factor; Experimental Designs; Fostering; Genes; Genetic; Genotype; Health; Home environment; Individual; Intervention; Longitudinal Studies; Mediating; Mental Health; Methodology; Modeling; Parents; Personal Satisfaction; Prevention intervention; Problem behavior; Process; Public Policy; Purpose; Religion and Spirituality; Research; Risk; Risk Factors; Services; Sexual Partners; Siblings; Single Parent; Societies; Specific qualifier value; Testing; Twin Multiple Birth; Violence; cost; design; developmental psychology; deviant; experience; family structure; gene environment interaction; high risk sexual behavior; intergenerational; protective effect; psychologic; psychological distress; theories; young adult

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Better understanding of how environmental and biological risk factors influence adolescent problem behavior - a constellation of co-morbid precocious or deviant behaviors, including delinquency, substance use, and high risk sexual behavior - is critical for ameliorating individual mental health and relieving society of the enormous cost imposed by these behaviors. One potential environmental protective factor is religiosity, defined as affiliation with a religious tradition and involvement in organized religious activities, Epidemiological research indicates that religiosity is associated with reduced problem behavior, including less alcohol and substance use, less delinquent behavior, later initiation of sexual intercourse, and fewer sexual partners. Classical and modern sociological theories posit that religiosity decreases deviant behavior by instilling beliefs about divine sanctions, encouraging prosocial ties that foster empathy and concern for collective well-being, facilitating the intergenerational communication of conforming values, and buffering against psychological distress that otherwise may be acted out in problem behavior. Because adolescents are not involved in religious organizations at random, however, genetic and environmental third variables may influence both religiosity and problem behavior, thus confounding observed associations. For example, two-parent homes are more likely to be religious than single-parent homes, and the presence of both biological parents is associated with less delinquency. Thus, family structure confounds associations between religiosity and delinquency. Furthermore, the effects of religiosity on problem behavior may interact with adolescents' genetic liabilities. The proposed project uses behavior genetic methodology and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to elucidate the processes underlying associations between religiosity and adolescent problem behavior. Specifically, the project will test whether twin and sibling pairs discordant for religiosity also differ in their levels of problem behavior, an association that controls for genetic and environmental influences shared by siblings. This "quasi-experimental" design provides a more rigorous test of whether religiosity is actually a protective factor against problem behavior. In addition, the project will combine distinct threads of inquiry into a comprehensive model of the effects of genes and religiosity on problem behavior that simultaneously considers genotype-environment correlation and interaction. The project is distinctive in its integration of sociological, psychological, and biological perspectives on adolescent problem behavior, and will inform prevention and intervention strategies designed to ameliorate this critical mental health issue.

描述（由申请人提供）：更好地了解环境和生物风险因素如何影响青少年问题行为-一系列共同病态的早熟或偏差行为，包括犯罪，物质使用和高风险性行为-对于改善个人心理健康和减轻社会对这些行为造成的巨大成本至关重要。一个潜在的环境保护因素是宗教信仰，定义为与宗教传统的联系和有组织的宗教活动的参与，流行病学研究表明，宗教信仰与减少问题行为有关，包括较少的酒精和物质使用，较少的犯罪行为，较晚开始性交，以及较少的性伴侣。古典和现代社会学理论认为，宗教信仰通过灌输关于神圣制裁的信仰，鼓励亲社会关系，促进同情和对集体福祉的关注，促进符合价值观的代际沟通，以及缓冲心理痛苦，从而减少偏差行为，否则可能会在问题行为中表现出来。然而，由于青少年不是随机参与宗教组织的，因此遗传和环境的第三变量可能会影响宗教信仰和问题行为，从而混淆观察到的关联。例如，双亲家庭比单亲家庭更有可能是宗教家庭，而亲生父母的存在与犯罪率较低有关。因此，家庭结构混淆了宗教信仰和犯罪之间的联系。此外，宗教信仰对问题行为的影响可能与青少年的遗传负债相互作用。该项目使用行为遗传学方法和国家青少年健康纵向研究的数据来阐明宗教信仰和青少年问题行为之间的潜在关联。具体来说，该项目将测试是否双胞胎和兄弟姐妹对宗教信仰不一致也在他们的问题行为水平上存在差异，这是一种控制兄弟姐妹共享的遗传和环境影响的关联。这种“准实验”设计提供了一个更严格的测试，以确定宗教信仰是否真的是一个防止问题行为的保护因素。此外，该项目将结合联合收割机不同的调查线索到一个综合模型的影响，基因和宗教问题的行为，同时考虑基因型与环境的相关性和相互作用。该项目的独特之处在于它整合了社会学，心理学和生物学对青少年问题行为的观点，并将为旨在改善这一关键心理健康问题的预防和干预策略提供信息。