PHILADELPHIA 

New research from the University of Pennsylvania shows that religious American high school seniors are less likely to engage in high-risk, negative behaviors, and more likely to engage in health promoting, positive behaviors, than their non-religious counterparts.

Details of the study are outlined in the report, "Is Religion Good for Adolescent Health?" A National Study of American High School Seniors by John Wallace, an associate professor at the University of Michigans School of Social Work and a fellow with Penns Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society.

Wallace examined the relationship between religion and behavioral predictors of adolescent illness and premature death such as carrying weapons, getting into fights, drinking and driving, and cigarette and marijuana use.

Data for this study come from the University of Michigans Monitoring the Future Project, a nationally representative sample of American high school seniors.  Wallace utilized data from 1999 and 2000 resulting in a sample of approximately 4,000 students.  

Students in the study completed questionnaires during a normal class period answering questions such as How important is religion in your life?  and How often do you attend religious services?  

Of the high school seniors studied, approximately half were at least somewhat religious, and a third were highly religious, with 32 percent reporting that religion was very important and 33 percent indicating that they attended religious services at least once a week.

The research indicates that seniors for whom religion is a very important part of their lives were half as likely to engage in injury related behaviors as their counterparts for whom religion was not important.

While more than 40 percent of the non-religious seniors surveyed drank heavily and used marijuana, only 25 percent or fewer of seniors for whom religion was very important used substances.

The results of the study indicate that relative to their peers, religious youth are less likely to engage in behaviors that compromise their health and more likely to behave in ways that enhance their health; proper nutrition, exercise, and rest. Wallace writes.

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