Religion helps people develop self-control, which at least one psychologist believes may explain why religious people have lower rates of substance abuse and depression, better academic success, lower levels of criminal behavior, better health, and longer lives.

Dr. Michael McCullough of the University of Miami Department of Psychology combed through eighty years of research on religion for a report published in the journal Psychological Bulletin. Among his findings were that religious rituals affect the part of the brain that regulates self-control, which may explain why religious people are less likely to misuse drugs and alcohol or have criminal behaviors.

Dr. McCullough also found that since religious people believe their goals are "sacred," they put more energy into them, and are more likely than others to attain them.

Labels: depression, religion, self-control

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Religious teens are less likely to drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, or use other drugs, according to a new study published in the Journal of Drug Issues.

The study found that individual religiosity is linked to being less likely to use alcohol or to smoke, and decreases a teen's chances of using marijuana by half. However, religiosity did not affect cocaine or heroin abuse.

Researchers from Brigham Young University looked at answers to these two questions given by over 14,000 teens: How often do you attend church? and How important is religion to you?

"Previously it was thought that if someone grew up in a religious community and went to church, then the community's religious strength would make a difference," said Professor Stephen Bahr, co-author of the study. "We basically found that was not the case. Individual religiosity is what makes the difference."

Labels: influences, religion, drug_use

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Being religious could help teenagers resist alcohol, even if they have a genetic predisposition toward alcoholism, according to a new study from the University of Colorado. However, this effect does not carry over into young adulthood.

Dr. Tanya Button studied 1432 pairs of identical and fraternal twins when they were adolescents and young adults, measuring their religiosity and problem alcohol abuse.

"Our study showed that genetic factors could influence problem alcohol use more in nonreligious adolescents than adolescents with a greater religious outlook," said Dr. Button. "This attenuation in religious participants indicates that religiosity exerted a strong enough influence over the behavior of religious individuals to override any genetic predisposition. The same was not true for young adults, however, for whom the genetic influence was consistent across levels of religiosity."

The study appeared in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
 

Labels: prevention, alcohol_abuse, alcohol, religion

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments