Institutional and Personal Spirituality/Religiosity and Psychosocial Adjustment in Adolescence: Concurrent and Longitudinal Associations

• NCJ Number: 246670
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 43 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2014 Pages: 757-774
• Author(s): Marie Good; Teena Willoughby
• Date Published: May 2014
• Length: 18 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study assessed the unique and joint associations between two dimensions of spirituality/religiosityinstitutional and personaland a range of domains of psychosocial adjustment intrapersonal well-being, quality of parent-child relationship, substance use, and academic orientation and to evaluate the direction of effects in these associations.

Abstract

Spirituality/religiosity is hypothesized to promote positive adjustment among adolescents. The goals of this study were to assess the unique and joint associations between two dimensions of spirituality/religiosityinstitutional and personaland a range of domains of psychosocial adjustment intrapersonal well-being, quality of parent-child relationship, substance use, and academic orientation and to evaluate the direction of effects in these associations. Participants included 803 predominately Canadian-born adolescents (53 percent female) from Ontario, Canada, who completed a survey in grade 11 and grade 12. At the concurrent level, higher personal spirituality/religiosity consistently and uniquely predicted more positive adjustment in terms of well-being, parental relationship, and academic orientation. Higher institutional spirituality/religiosity uniquely and consistently predicted lower substance use, particularly when personal spirituality/religiosity also was high. With regard to the direction of effects i.e., longitudinal associations, institutional spirituality/religiosity predicted lower future substance use. The results imply that the personal and institutional dimensions of spirituality/religiosity may be associated differentially with psychosocial adjustment, and it may be only in the domain of substance use that spirituality/religiosity predicts change in behavior over time. Abstract published by arrangement with Springer.