Profiles of Religiosity and Their Association With Risk Behavior Among Emerging Adults in the United States

Abstract

There exists significant variation in religious expression, and a growing body of research suggests the importance of examining this variation among emerging adults vis-à-vis involvement in antisocial and high-risk behaviors. Drawing from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH; N = 19,312) and the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; N = 2,721), latent profile analysis and multinomial regression are employed to examine the relationships between latent religiosity classes, antisocial behavior, substance use, and substance use disorders. Results revealed four-class solutions for both the NSDUH and NESARC samples. Emerging adults classified as “publicly and privately devoted” were substantially less likely to be involved in a broad array of risk behaviors and to meet criteria for substance use disorders. Findings suggest the protective effect of religiosity finds its most powerful expression primarily among the minority of emerging adults most profoundly committed to religious life.

Keywords

religiosity emerging adults antisocial behavior risk behavior substance use

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