A considerable amount of research has been conducted on the nature of the relationship between both religiosity and family process with deviance. There are few studies, however, that investigate the interplay among religiosity, family process, and deviance. The current study sought to examine whether family process mediates the relationship between religiosity (conceptualized as ritualistic participation and relational practice) and deviance. High school students (N = 865) responded to survey questions dealing with religiosity (two scales), family process (six scales for both mothers and fathers), and deviance (seven subscales and a total deviance scale). A structural equation modeling (SEM) analytic approach was used. Results indicated that family process did not mediate the relationship between religiosity and deviance. Relational practice was found to be a more robust predictor of deviant behavior than ritualistic participation. Future research in this area should seek to improve methods of data collection (e.g., multimethod) and to develop better scalar measures of religiosity.
Albrecht, S.L., Chadwick, B.A., & Alcorn, D.S. ( 1977). Religiosity and deviance: Application of an attitude-behavior contingent consistency model. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 16, 263-274.
2.
Amato, P.R., & Fowler, F. ( 2002). Parenting practices, child adjustment, and family diversity . Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 703-716.
3.
Bachman, J.G., O’Malley, P.M., Schulenberg, J.E., Johnston, L.D., Bryant, A.L., & Merline, A. ( 2002). Religious attendance and importance. In J. G. Bachman, P. M. O’Malley , J. E. Schulenberg, L. D. Johnston, A. L. Bryant, & A. Merline (Eds.), The decline of substance use in young adulthood (pp. 40-70). Mahwah, NJ: Laurence Erlbaum.
4.
Bahr, H.M., & Chadwick, B.A. (1985). Religion and family in Middletown USA. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 47, 407-414.
5.
Bahr, S.J., & Hawks, R.D. ( 1993). Family and religious influences on adolescent substance abuse. Youth & Society, 24, 443-465.
6.
Baier, C.J., & Wright, B.R.E. (2001). "If you love me, keep my commandments": A meta-analysis of the effect of religion on crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38, 3-21.
7.
Barber, B.K., & Rollins, B.C. ( 1990). Parent adolescent relationships. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
8.
Barkan, S.E. ( 2006). Religiosity and premarital sex in adulthood. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 45, 407-417.
9.
Baron, R.M., & Kenny, D.A. ( 1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
10.
Beaudoin, T. ( 2000). Virtual faith: The irreverent spiritual quest of Generation X. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
11.
Benda, B.B. ( 1995). The effect of religion on delinquency revisited . Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 32, 446-466.
12.
Benda, B.B., & Corwyn, R.F. ( 1997). Religion and delinquency: The relationship after considering family and peer influences. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 36, 81-92.
13.
Benda, B.B., Pope, S.K., & Kelleher, K.J. (2006). Church attendance or religiousness: Their relationship to adolescents’ use of alcohol, other drugs, and delinquency. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 24, 75-87.
14.
Benda, B.B., & Toombs, N.J. ( 2000). Religiosity and violence: Are they related after considering the strongest predictors? Journal of Criminal Justice, 28, 483-496.
15.
Benson, P.L., Yeager, R.J., Wood, P.K., Guerra, M.J., & Manno, B.V. ( 1986). Catholic high schools: Their impact on low-income students . Washington, DC: National Catholic Educational Association.
16.
Bentler, P.M., & Bonett, D.G. ( 1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin , 88, 588-606.
17.
Brody, G.H., & Flor, D.L. ( 1998). Maternal resources, parenting practices, and child competence in rural, single-parent AfricanAmerican families. Child Development , 69, 803-816.
18.
Brody, G.H., Stoneman, Z., & Flor, D.L. ( 1996). Parental religiosity, family processes, and youth competence in rural, two-parent AfricanAmerican families. Developmental Psychology, 32, 696-706.
19.
Brody, G.H., Stoneman, Z., Flor, D.L., & McCrary, C. ( 1994). Religion’s role in organizing family relationships: Family processes in rural, two-parent AfricanAmerican families. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, 878-888.
20.
Burkett, S.R., & White, M. ( 1974). Hellfire and delinquency: Another look. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 13, 455-462.
21.
Buysse, W.H. ( 1997). Behaviour problems and relationships with family and peers during adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 20, 645-659.
22.
Byrne, B.M. ( 1994). Structural equation modeling with EQS and EQS/Windows . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
23.
Capaldi, D.M., Stoolmiller, M., Clark, S., & Owen, L.D. ( 2002). Heterosexual risk behaviors in at-risk young men from early adolescence to young adulthood: Prevalence, prediction, and association with STD contraction. Developmental Psychology, 38, 394-406.
24.
Caputo, R.K. ( 2005). Religiousness and adolescent behaviors: A comparison of boys and girls. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work, 24, 39-67.
25.
Cernkovich, S.A., & Giordano, P.C. (1987). Family relationships and delinquency. Criminology, 25, 295-321.
26.
Cernkovich, S.A., & Giordano, P.C. (1992). School bonding, race, and delinquency. Criminology, 30, 261-290.
27.
Chadwick, B.A., & Top, B.L. ( 1993). Religiosity and delinquency among LDS adolescents . Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 32, 51-67.
28.
Cochran, J.K. ( 1989). Another look at delinquency and religiosity. Sociological Spectrum, 9, 147-162.
29.
Cochran, J.K., Wood, P.B., & Arneklev, B.J. (1994). Is the religiosity-delinquency relationship spurious? A test of arousal and social control theories. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 31, 92-123.
30.
Corwyn, R.F., & Benda, B.B. ( 2000). Religiosity and church attendance: The effects on use of "hard drugs" controlling for sociodemographic and theoretical factors . International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 10, 241-258.
31.
Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K.A., Bates, J.E., & Pettit, G.S. ( 1998). Multiple risk factors in the development of externalizing behavior problems: Group and individual differences. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 469-493.
32.
Duncan, S.C., Duncan, T.E., Biglan, A., & Ary, D. ( 1998). Contributions of the social context to the development of adolescent substance use: A multivariate latent growth modeling approach . Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 50, 57-71.
33.
Elifsen, K.W., Petersen, D.M., & Hadaway, C.K. ( 1983). Religiosity and delinquency: A contextual analysis . Criminology, 21, 505-527.
34.
Ellickson, P.L., & Morton, S.C. ( 1999). Identifying adolescents at risk for hard drug use: Racial/ethnic variations. Journal of Adolescent Health , 25, 382-395.
35.
Erickson, J.A. ( 1992). Adolescent religious development and commitment: A structural equation model of the role of family, peer group, and educational influences . Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion , 31, 131-152.
Evans, T.D., Cullen, F.T., Dunaway, R.G., & Burton, V.S. ( 1995). Religion and crime reexamined: The impact of religion, secular controls, and social ecology on adult criminality. Criminology, 33, 195-217.
38.
Farrington, D.P. ( 1986). Age and crime. In M. Tonry & M. Morris (Eds.), Crime and justice: An annual review of research (Vol. 7, pp. 189-250). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
39.
Florsheim, P., Tolan, P.H., & Gorman-Smith, D. (1998). Family relationships, parenting practices, the availability of male family members, and the behavior of inner-city boys in single-mother and two-parent families. Child Development, 69, 1437-1447.
40.
Foshee, V.A., & Hollinger, B.R. (1996). Maternal religiosity, adolescent social bonding, and adolescent alcohol use. Journal of Early Adolescence, 16, 451-468.
41.
Fulton, A.S. ( 1997). Identity status, religious orientation, and prejudice . Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 26(1), 1-11.
42.
Geismar, L.L., & Wood, K. ( 1986). Family and delinquency: Resocializing the young offender . New York: Human Sciences Press .
Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P.H., & Henry, D.B. ( 2000). A developmental-ecological model of the relation between family functioning to patterns of delinquency. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 16, 169-198.
45.
Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P.H., Zelli, A., & Huesmann, L.R. (1996). The relation of family functioning to violence among inner-city minority youths. Journal of Family Psychology, 10, 115-129.
46.
Gorsuch, R.L. ( 1988). Psychology of religion. Annual Review of Psychology, 39, 201-221.
47.
Gorsuch, R.L., & McFarland, S.G. (1972). Single vs. multiple-item scales for measuring religious values. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 11, 53-64.
48.
Gunnoe, M.L., Hetherington, E.M., & Reiss, D. ( 1999). Parental religiosity, parenting style, and adolescent social responsibility. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 199-225.
49.
Harris, M.A. ( 2003). Religiosity and perceived future ascetic deviance and delinquency among Mormon adolescents: Testing the "this-worldly" supernatural sanctions thesis. Sociological Inquiry, 73, 28-51.
50.
Hayduk, L.A. ( 1987). Structural equation modeling with latent variables . New York: John Wiley.
51.
Heaton, T.B., & Pratt, E.L. ( 1990). The effects of religious homogamy on marital satisfaction and stability. Journal of Family Issues, 11, 191-207.
52.
Henggeler, S.W. ( 1989). Delinquency in adolescence. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
53.
Higgins, P.C., & Albrecht, G.L. (1977). Hellfire and delinquency revisited. Social Forces, 55, 952-958.
54.
Hirschi, T. ( 1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley : University of California Press.
55.
Hirschi, T., & Gottfredson, M. (1983). Age and the explanation of crime. American Journal of Sociology, 89, 552-584.
56.
Hirschi, T., & Stark, R. ( 1969). Hellfire and delinquency. Social Problems , 17, 202-213.
57.
Hoffman, J.P., & Bahr, S. ( 2005). Crime/deviance. In H. R. Ebaugh (Ed.), Handbook of religion and social institutions (pp. 241-263). New York: Springer .
58.
Holmbeck, G.N. ( 1997). Toward terminological, conceptual, and statistical clarity in the study of mediators and moderators: Examples from the child-clinical and pediatric psychology literatures. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 599-610.
Hoyle, R.H., & Smith, G.T. ( 1994). Formulating clinical research hypotheses as structural equation models: A conceptual overview. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 429-440.
61.
Hurrelman, K. ( 1990). Parents, peers, teachers, and other significant partners in adolescence. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth , 2, 211-236.
62.
Jang, S.J., & Johnson, B.R. ( 2001). Neighborhood disorder, individual religiosity, and adolescent use of illicit drugs: A test of multilevel hypotheses. Criminology , 39, 109-143.
63.
Johnson, B.R., De Li, S., Larson, D.B., & McCullough, M. (2000). A systematic review of the religiosity and delinquency literature. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 16, 32-52.
64.
Johnson, B.R., Jang, S.J., Larson, D.B., & De Li, S. ( 2001). Does adolescent religious commitment matter? A reexamination of the effects of religiosity on delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38, 22-43.
65.
Johnson, V., & Pandina, R.J. ( 1991). Effects of the family environment on adolescent substance use, delinquency, and coping styles. American Journal on Alcohol Abuse, 17, 71-88.
66.
Judd, C.M., & Kenny, D.A. ( 1981). Process analysis: Estimating mediation in treatment evaluations . Evaluation Review, 5, 602-619.
67.
Kenny, D.A., Kashy, D.A., & Bolger, N. ( 1998). Data analysis in social psychology. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (pp. 233-265). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
68.
Kim, J.E., Hetherington, E.M., & Reiss, D. ( 1999). Associations among family relationships, antisocial peers, and adolescents’ externalizing behaviors: Gender and family-type differences . Child Development, 70, 1209-1230.
69.
Knudten, R.D., & Knudten, M.S. ( 1971). Juvenile delinquency, crime, and religion. Review of Religious Research, 17, 130-152.
70.
Laursen, B., Coy, K.C., & Collins, W.A. ( 1998). Reconsidering changes in parent-child conflict across adolescence: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 69, 817-832.
71.
Lehrer, E.L., & Chiswick, C.U. (1993). Religion as a determinant of marital stability. Demography, 30, 385-403.
72.
Lipsey, M.W., & Derzon, J.H. ( 1998). Predictors of violent or serious delinquency in adolescence and early adulthood: A synthesis of longitudinal research. In R. Loeber, & D. P. Farrington (Eds.), Serious & violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions (pp. 86-105). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
73.
Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1986). Family factors as correlates and predictors of juvenile conduct problems and delinquency. In M. Tonry & N. Morris (Eds.), Crime and justice: An annual review of research (Vol. 7, pp. 219-339). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
74.
Loehlin, J.C. ( 1992). Latent variable models: An introduction to factor, path and structural analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
75.
Mahoney, A., Pargament, K.I., Jewell, T., Swank, A.B., Scott, E., Emery, E., et al. (1999). Marriage and the spiritual realm: The role of proximal and distal religious constructs in marital functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 13, 1-18.
76.
Marsh, H.W., Balla, J.R., & McDonald, R.P. (1988). Goodness-of-fit indexes in confirmatory factor analysis: The effect of sample size. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 391-410.
77.
Marsh, H.W., & Hocevar, D. ( 1985). The application of confirmatory factor analysis to the study of self-concept: First and higher order factor structures and their invariance across age groups. Psychological Bulletin , 97, 562-582.
78.
Miller, N., Cowan, P.A., Cowan, C.P., Hetherington, E.M., & Clingempeel, W.G. (1993). Externalizing in preschoolers and early adolescents: A cross-study replication of a family model. Developmental Psychology, 29, 3-18.
79.
Mounts, N.S. ( 2002). Parental management of adolescent peer relationships in context: The role of parenting style. Journal of Family Psychology, 16, 58-69.
80.
Parker, C.P., Baltes, B.B., & Christiansen, N.D. (1997). Support for affirmative action, justice perceptions, and work attitudes: A study of gender and racial-ethnic group differences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 376-389.
81.
Patterson, G.R., Forgatch, M.S., Yoerger, K.L., & Stoolmiller, M. (1998). Variables that initiate and maintain an early-onset trajectory for juvenile offending. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 531-547.
82.
Pearce, L.D., & Axinn, W.G. ( 1998). The impact of family religious life on the quality of mother-child relations. American Sociological Review, 63, 810-828.
83.
Pearce, L.D., & Haynie, D.L. ( 2004). Intergenerational religious dynamics and adolescent delinquency . Social Forces, 82, 1553-1572.
84.
Pettit, G.S., Laird, R.D., Bates, J.E., & Dodge, K.A. ( 1997). Patterns of after-school care in middle childhood: Risk factors and developmental outcomes. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly , 43, 515-538.
85.
Pittman, L.D., & Chase-Lansdale, P.L. (2001). African American adolescent girls in impoverished communities: Parenting style and adolescent outcomes . Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11, 199-224.
86.
Rabey, S. ( 2001). In search of authentic faith: How emerging generations are transforming the church. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook.
87.
Regnerus, M.D. ( 2003a). Linked lives, faith, and behavior: Intergenerational religious influence on adolescent delinquency. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42, 189-203.
88.
Regnerus, M.D. ( 2003b). Religion and positive adolescent outcomes: A review of research and theory. Review of Religious Research , 44, 394-413.
89.
Regnerus, M.D. ( 2005). Adolescent delinquency. In H. R. Ebaugh (Ed.), Handbook of religion and social institutions (pp. 265-282). New York: Springer .
90.
Regnerus, M.D., & Smith, C. ( 2005). Selection effects in studies of religious influence . Review of Religious Research, 47, 23-50.
91.
Rohrbaugh, J., & Jessor, R. ( 1975). Religiosity in youth: A personal control against deviant behavior. Journal of Personality, 43, 136-155.
92.
Ross, L.E. ( 1994). Religion and deviance: Exploring the impact of social control elements. Sociological Spectrum, 14, 65-86.
93.
Rothbaum, F., & Weisz, J.R. ( 1994). Parental caregiving and child externalizing behavior in nonclinical samples: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin , 116, 55-74.
94.
Ruiz, S.Y., Roosa, M.W., & Gonzales, N.A. (2002). Predictors of self-esteem for Mexican American and European American youths: A reexamination of the influence of parenting. Journal of Family Psychology, 16, 70-80.
95.
Schreck, C.J., Burek, M.W., & Clark-Miller, J. (2007). He sends rain upon the wicked: A panel study of the influence of religiosity on violent victimization . Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 872-893.
96.
Shek, D.T.L., & Ma, H.K. ( 2001). Parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent antisocial and prosocial behavior: A longitudinal study in a Chinese context. Adolescence, 36, 545-555.
97.
Simons, L.G., Simons, R.L., & Conger, R.D. ( 2004). Identifying the mechanisms whereby family religiosity influences the probability of adolescent antisocial behavior. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 35, 547-563.
98.
Smith, C. ( 2003a). Religious participation and parental moral expectations and supervision ofAmerican youth. Reviews of Religious Research , 44, 414-424.
99.
Smith, C. ( 2003b). Theorizing religious effects amongAmerican adolescents. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42, 17-30.
100.
Smith, C., & Kim, P. ( 2002). Religious youth are more likely to have positive relationships with their fathers. National Study of Youth and Religion. Retrieved July 3, 2002, from http://www.youthandreligion.org/news/7-2-2002.html
101.
Smith, T.R., Rizzo, E., & Empie, K.M. ( 2005). Yielding to deviant temptation: A quasi-experimental examination of the inhibiting power of intrinsic religious motivation. Deviant Behavior, 26, 463-481.
102.
Snarey, J.R., & Dollahite, D.C. (2001). Varieties of religion-family linkages. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 646-651.
103.
Snyder, J.J., & Patterson, G.R. (1987). Family interaction and delinquent behavior. In H. C. Quay (Ed.), Handbook of juvenile delinquency (pp. 216-243). New York: John Wiley.
104.
Sokol-Katz, J., Dunham, R., & Zimmerman, R. ( 1997). Family structure versus parental attachment in controlling adolescent deviant behavior: A social control model. Adolescence , 32, 199-215.
105.
Stacy, A.W., Newcomb, M.D., & Bentler, P.M. ( 1992). Interactive and higher-order effects of social influences on drug use. Journal of Health & Social Behavior , 33(3), 226-241.
106.
Stark, R., Kent, L., & Doyle, D.P. ( 1982). Religion and delinquency: The ecology of a "lost" relationship . Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency , 19, 4-24.
107.
Sullivan, K.T. ( 2001). Understanding the relationship between religiosity and marriage: An investigation of the immediate and longitudinal effects of religiosity on newlywed couples. Journal of Family Psychology , 15, 610-626.
108.
Tittle, C.R., & Welch, M.R. ( 1983). Religiosity and deviance: Toward a contingency theory of constraining effects. Social Forces, 61, 653-682.
109.
Tolan, P.H., Gorman-Smith, D., Huesmann, L.R., & Zelli, A. ( 1997). Assessment of family relationship characteristics: A measure to explain risk for antisocial behavior and depression among urban youth. Psychological Assessment, 9, 212-223.
110.
Uecker, J.E., Regnerus, M.D., & Vaaler, M.L. ( 2007). Losing my religion: The social sources of religious decline in early adulthood. Social Forces, 86, 1667-1692.
111.
Vazsonyi, A.T., & Flannery, D.J. (1997). Early adolescent delinquent behaviors: Associations with family and school domains. Journal of Early Adolescence, 17, 271-293.
112.
Vazsonyi, A.T., Hibbert, J.R., & Snider, J.B. ( 2003). Exotic enterprise no more: Adolescent reports of family and parenting processes from youth in four countries. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13, 129-160.
113.
Vazsonyi, A.T., Pickering, L.E., Junger, M., & Hessing, D. ( 2001). An empirical test of A General Theory of Crime: A four-nation comparative study of self-control and the prediction of deviance . Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38, 91-131.
114.
Wallace, J.M., Yamaguchi, R., Bachman, J.G., O’Malley, P.M., Schulenberg, J.E., & Johnston, L.D. (2007). Religiosity and adolescent substance use: The role of individual and contextual influences. Social Problems, 54, 308-327.
115.
Welch, M.R., Tittle, C.R., & Grasmick, H.G. (2006). Christian religiosity, self-control and social conformity. Social Forces, 84, 1605-1623.
116.
Wilcox, W.B. ( 1998). Conservative Protestant childrearing: Authoritarian or authoritative? American Sociological Review, 63, 796-809.
117.
Zhang, L., & Messner, S.F. ( 1995). Family deviance and delinquency in China. Criminology, 33, 359-387.
118.
Zoba, W.M. ( 1999). Generation 2K: What parents need to know about the millennials . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
