Social Context in the Development of Adolescent Religiosity

Students of religious development in youth tend to focus on characteristics of the child or adolescent and perhaps those of their parents. Although often reflecting standard disciplinary practices, this approach is also often the result of data limitations. This study used longitudinal data from ado...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inApplied developmental science Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 27 - 38
Main Authors Regnerus, Mark D., Smith, Christian, Smith, Brad
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Mahwah Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc 01.01.2004
Psychology Press
Subjects
Adolescent Development
Adolescents
Age Differences
Context Effect
Counties
Educational Environment
Family Structure
Gender Differences
Interviews
Longitudinal Studies
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
Parent Influence
Peer Influence
Personal Autonomy
Racial Differences
Religion
Religious Factors
Social Environment
Social Influences
Social Science Research
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Summary:Students of religious development in youth tend to focus on characteristics of the child or adolescent and perhaps those of their parents. Although often reflecting standard disciplinary practices, this approach is also often the result of data limitations. This study used longitudinal data from adolescents, parents, friends, schools, and communities to examine the role of social and religious context on the development of public and subjective religiosity in adolescents. Employing data from 2 waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we found that parents and friends strongly influenced the religious service attendance habits of adolescents and that these, as well as school context, shaped how important religion is in adolescents' lives. County-level influences appeared minimal. The results affirmed an ecological approach to the study of religious development in youth, one that considers the multiple social contexts in which youth live.
ISSN:1088-8691
1532-480X
DOI:10.1207/S1532480XADS0801_4