Re-examining Religiosity as a Protective Factor: Comparing Alcohol Use by Self-Identified Religious, Spiritual, and Secular College Students

• Published in: Journal of religion and health Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 305 - 316
• Main Authors: Burke, Adam, Van Olphen, Juliana, Eliason, Mickey, Howell, Ryan, Gonzalez, Autumn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer 01.04.2014; Springer US; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aging; Alcohol drinking; Alcohol Drinking - psychology; Alcohol use; Alcohols; Binge drinking; Clinical Psychology; College students; Drug and alcohol surveys; Female; Health Behavior; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Paper; Protective Factors; Public Health; Religion; Religion & psychology; Religion and Psychology; Religiosity; Religious identity; Religious Studies; San Francisco; School campuses; Secularism; Social Values; Spiritual belief systems; Spirituality; Students - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Universities; Young Adult; San Francisco; Spirituality; College students; Protective factors; Religiosity; Alcohol use
• ISSN: 0022-4197; 1573-6571
• DOI: 10.1007/s10943-012-9623-8

Religiosity has been found to be associated with lower alcohol use by college students. The majority of studies on this topic, however, fail to differentiate religiosity and spirituality. This is potentially problematic due to the changing face of religion in America today. A study was conducted to explore similarities and differences between self-identified religious and spiritual college students. A modified version of the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey was administered online with a sample of 2,312 students. As hypothesized, self-identified religious and spiritual students differed significantly on key variables related to religious practices, alcohol consumption, and postmodern social values.