Saturday, 15 January 2005 - 12:00 PM

This presentation is part of: Poster Session II

Religiousness Effects on Parenting Stress and Substance Use in Poor Single Black Mothers

Purpose: That parenting can be a fairly stressful experience for poor single mothers is well recognized. Also, studies have found that parenting stress is associated with negative health outcomes, including excessive use of substances. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether participation in religious activities might serve as a protective factor among mothers high in parenting stress.

Methods: Using data gathered from 178 low-income, single, black mothers in New York City, we utilized logistic regresion to investigate the relations among religious participation, parenting stress, and substance use.

Results: Results of a series of logistic regression equations indicate that the relationship between religious participation and substance use is complex. In this study, greater participation in religious activities, lower educational attainment, and less parenting stress were associated with a reduced amount of alcohol and marijuana use in the past 12 months. However, when the dependent variables were "has anyone told you that you should reduce your use of alcohol in the past 12 months" and "have you thought that you should reduce your use of alcohol in the past 12 months", neither of these variables was related significantly to religious participation. With respect to marijuana use, however, similar relationships were significant; i.e., mothers who participated more often in religious activities were more likely to get advice from others to reduce their use of marijuana and to believe that they themselves should reduce their use of this substance. Our results support previous findings that religious involvement can be a potent coping strategy for facilitating adjustment to life stresses.

Implications: Findings will be discussed in the context of social work interventions that include developing supportive environments that take account of the spiritual and religious life of poor single mothers raising young children in difficult social and economic circumstances.

See more of Poster Session II
See more of Oral and Poster

See more of Celebrating a Decade of SSWR (January 13 - 16, 2005)