Does Growing up in a Religious Household Produce (Lasting) Benefits for Youth?

Background and Purpose: The role of religion in the successful development of youth has rarely been addressed in terms of its prospective implications for the successful transition to adulthood and for developmental outcomes later in the life course. A body of evidence has demonstrated that children raised in more religious homes tend to have more positive emotional outcomes and engage less in risky behavior. However, little is known about the implications of religious experiences beyond childhood and for later stages of development. We hypothesized in the present research that early exposure to religion will produce psychological and behavioral benefits for children after they leave the parental household and enter adult roles.

 Methods: For this study, we used survey data from 793 late adolescent and young adult children (age 16-32) who participated in the Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG) between 1991 and 2005. These children were matched to their parents’ reports of religiosity in 1985 and 1988.  We examined whether parents’ reports of religious beliefs, religious intensity, and religious practice influenced depression, self-esteem, and substance use in their children over time.

 Results: Using multiple regression we found that stronger intensity of religious identification and greater frequency of service attendance by parents were correlated with less depression, better self-esteem, and less alcohol use in their offspring in adulthood. These results held when children’s religiosity was controlled and tended to be stronger for fathers’ religiosity than for mothers’ religiosity.

 Conclusions and Implications: We conclude that religious life represents an important social arena for families that confers advantages to youth which persist over time. This benefit is likely the result of involved parenting, internal constraints on risky behavior, as well as social resources inherent in religious institutions. Our results suggest that religiosity may function as a form of social and psychological capital, providing children the skills and resources that allow them to better adapt to the challenges of young adulthood. Policies that harness the potential of religious institutions may help youth avoid problems by enabling social connections, strengthening families, and inculcating pro-social values—producing possible lifetime benefits.