Religion is an area that has become increasingly examined as it relates to psychological and physical adjustment. However, there is a dearth of research as to how this factor operates in the lives of adolescents. The limited research available suggest the importance of religious belief systems to youths. This
article provides a discussion of the role of religion in decreasing adolescent risk behavior and increasing healthy lifestyle choices from a stress and
coping perspective. In an extensive review of the literature, the authors find support for the important influences religion and spirituality have on children and
adolescents thoughts, feelings and actions. In particular, religion is shown to function as a coping mechanism to provide youth with resiliency against negative peer pressure without accompanying decreases in self esteem often found in youths who resist the negative influences of their peers when lacking coping mechanisms. Additionally, this review suggests that religious or spiritual teachings that assign significance to unexpected or stressful life events provide even younger children with a means of understanding and accepting the challenges they face.
The multitude of
factors related to religion, spirituality and culture predicting child and adolescent risk taking and
health discussed here, are organized according to differing models leading to the most inclusive model that has been proposed to date. Entitled the
Socialization Influence Model (Williams and Williams, 1999), this organizational structure incorporates five components consisting of (1)
Primary Socialization conceptualized as the family or primary caretaker of the child; (2) Secondary Socialization which includes such factors as religion, school and educational influences, and peer relationships. Secondary Socialization factors are shown to be influenced by Primary Socialization Factors, through the environments the primary caretakers select for their children to participate in; (3) Tertiary Socialization Factors which influence the Secondary level after it is in place, such as mechanisms of social control, social support, values and identity; (4) Health Outcomes resulting from the three levels of socialization, including health status, attitudes and belief systems related to health, and health behaviors engaged in; (5) The Macro-Sociocultural Context of the Family, which the entire system is embedded within. Models such as this one can help us to more clearly understand the ways in which religion and spirituality both influence and are influenced through the development in adolescents from differering cultures. The review concludes with practical implications focusing on intervention techniques, potential risk prevention efforts that may be effective based on the finding in the literature and suggestions for further research.
This is an important article for anyone interested in how religion and religious institutions can play a role in the health of all individuals, including children and adolescents, through prevention efforts, alternative healing methods, social support and group empowerment within communities in the United States and around the world. As almost no empirical data exists on the topic of the role of religion and spirituality in youth, this article continues to be a useful source of skillfully summarized and integrated material on a wide range of topics, religions and cultures, providing the background knowledge and laying the foundation for considering how children and adolescents utilize religious factors. The review takes into account theories and empirical findings that explore this topic based on family upbringing as well as through additional factors that are distinct yet may interact with those initiated by the primary caregivers
In taking a developmental approach to the study of stress and coping, this comprehensive review of the literature discusses the multitude of factors that relate to the area of religion and heealth, placing them in a framework permitting the reader to see the potential ways these aspects work together, influencing the outcomes of the numerous possible interactions, along with the potential consequences of each. The areas of this review are clearly organized into specific sections with descriptive subtitles, which make it easy for those with little or no background in psychology or health, to follow. It is an article that both laymen and practitioners will find useful, by focusing attention on the meaning and significance of religion, spirituality and culture in adolescents’ lives, along with and when and how these factors may fit within the coping process for these children. Most useful however, are the practical implications the authors provide, for all who are responsible for children in any manner, through identifying factors that are related to risky health behaviors and those that are related to positive health practices. Being knowledgeable about the factors associated with maintaining a healthy lifestyle for youth is the first step to establishing collaborative relationship to help institute a method for teaching adaptive coping behaviors that promote health practices, and improvements in health status. The more diverse the collaborations, the more the information and implications presented here will prove useful for improving the health of youth from different cultures within the U.S. as well as youth who reside in the vast variety of countries with cultures that are perhaps not represented in the United States. Regardless of background, age or personal lifestyle, this article includes a wide enough body of information such that most individuals will find something applicable within it this increasingly globalized world.
More abstracts about the Religion, Risk Prevention and Health Promotion in Adolescents: A Community Based Approach