a r t i c l e i n f o Three hypotheses with the potential to provide information on the role of religiosity as a promotive and protective factor in early adolescence were tested. Adolescents (N = 166, M age = 13 years, 49% female, 49% European American, 45% African American) and mothers reported their own personal importance of religion and the frequency of their attendance of religious service...

Past research argues that religious commitments shape individuals’ prosocial sentiments, including their generosity and solidarity. But what drives the prosociality of less religious people? Three studies tested the hypothesis that, with fewer religious expectations of prosociality, less religious individuals’ levels of compassion will play a larger role in their prosocial tendencies. In Study ...

Researchers have found that religious affiliation, religious attendance, religious beliefs, and prayer are associated with teen sexual attitudes and behavior.(Wallace & Williams, 1997; Whitehead, Wilcox, & Rostosky, 2001) Holding strong religious beliefs and praying are linked to reduced sexual activity among adolescents (Meier, 2003; Resnick et al., 1997) and teens (girls in particular) from m...

Within the last few years the relationship between religiousness and psychosocial adjustment has become a subject of increasing interest. However, previous research did not explicitly differentiate between dispositional religious commitment and situation-specific religious coping. The current cross-sectional study investigated the relative power of religious commitment, positive and negative re...

OBJECTIVE Multiple aspects of religion have been linked with a variety of physical health outcomes; however, rarely have investigators attempted to empirically test the mechanisms through which religiosity impacts health. The links between religious participation, religious coping, and diurnal cortisol patterns over a 10-year period in a national sample of adults in the United States were inves...

This study examined the relationship between multiple dimensions of religious involvement and transitions of tobacco smoking abstinence, persistence, cessation and relapse over 9-10 years of follow-up in a national sample of adults in the United States. Using data provided at baseline and follow-up, participants were categorized as non-smokers, persistent smokers, ex-smokers, and relapsed smoke...

The economic argument for subsidizing charitable giving relies on the positive externalities of charitable activities, particularly from the religious institutions that are the largest recipients of giving. But the net external effects of subsidies to religious giving will also depend on a potentially important indirect effect as well: impacts on religious participation. Religious participation...

Religious socialization occurs within the immediate family as well as in the broader social context. Previous research has shown that parents’ religiosity matters less for the transmission of religious beliefs in devout than in secular nations, implying smaller costs of religious socialization. In this paper we test which other societal factors affect the transmission of religious beliefs: anti...