A Longitudinal Examination of the Relationship between Religious Service Attendance and Young Adult Substance Use

Young adulthood is a time of increased substance use. To better understand the effects of potential protective factors, this study explores the relationship between four types of religious service attendance during emerging adulthood and six measures of young adult substance use. Study data were abstracted from waves I (time 1 [T1]) and IV (time 2 [T2]) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) surveys (N = 14,800). Logistic regression was conducted to calculate the odds of using each substance with the results weighted to produce nationally representative estimates. Analysis revealed that service attendance was generally associated with a lower likelihood of lifetime and recent use across all measures examined at T2. Relative to the reference group (nonattenders at T1 and T2), the protective effects were largest for the consistent attendance group (attenders at T1 and T2), followed by the adult attendance group (nonattenders at T1, attenders at T2), and then the childhood attendance group (attenders at T1, nonattenders at T2). The results suggest that diverse attendance types may exert a protective influence on adult substance use. Practitioners might explore attendance options in clinical settings in a client-centered manner.