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Religiosity and Adolescent Substance Use in Central Mexico: Exploring the Influence of Internal and External Religiosity on Cigarette and Alcohol Use

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American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

This study explores the multidimensional nature of religiosity on substance use among adolescents living in central Mexico. From a social capital perspective, this article investigates how external church attendance and internal religious importance interact to create differential pathways for adolescents, and how these pathways exert both risk and protective influences on Mexican youth. The data come from 506 self-identified Roman Catholic youth (ages 14–17) living in a semi-rural area in the central state of Guanajuato, Mexico, and attending alternative secondary schools. Findings indicate that adolescents who have higher church attendance coupled with higher religious importance have lower odds of using alcohol, while cigarette use is lower among adolescents who have lower church attendance and lower religious importance. Adolescents are most at risk using alcohol and cigarettes when church attendance is higher but religious importance is lower. In conclusion, incongruence between internal religious beliefs and external church attendance places Mexican youth at greater risk of alcohol and cigarette use. This study not only contributes to understandings of the impact of religiosity on substance use in Mexico, but highlights the importance of understanding religiosity as a multidimensional phenomenon which can lead to differential substance use patterns.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by the Arizona State University (ASU) Foundation Professorship of Cultural and Diversity and Health. Manuscript development was supported by grant number P20MD002316 from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Arizona State University, the NIMHD, and the NIH had no further role in the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of ASU, the NIMHD or the NIH.

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  1. School of Social Work, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Flavio Francisco Marsiglia & Steven Hoffman

  2. Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Stephanie L. Ayers

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  1. Flavio Francisco Marsiglia
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Correspondence to Steven Hoffman.

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Marsiglia, F.F., Ayers, S.L. & Hoffman, S. Religiosity and Adolescent Substance Use in Central Mexico: Exploring the Influence of Internal and External Religiosity on Cigarette and Alcohol Use. Am J Community Psychol 49, 87–97 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9439-9

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