PHILADELPHIA  Religious convictions shield male teenagers in poor, inner-city neighborhoods from the lure of drugs and crime, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

The study is detailed in The Great Escape: How Religion Alters the Delinquent Behavior of High-Risk Adolescents by Byron Johnson and Marc Siegel of Penns Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society.

The study indicates that, other things being equal, religious commitment will act as a safeguard in protecting at-risk youth living in poor, blighted, inner-city communities from socially undesirable activities.

The study was based on survey data from 2,358 young black males in poverty tracts in Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia.

The researchers found that religious commitment, such as frequent church attendance, significantly reduces drug use and drug dealing, as well as non-drug-related illegal activities among disadvantaged youth.

Accounting for other protective factors, including positive  parental attachments and school and community involvements which help numerous at-risk youth stay out of trouble, the researchers concluded that individual religiosity is one of those shielding factors.  

This study confirms that religiosity is an important protective factor in helping at-risk youth avoid trouble, while adding to our understanding of those factors that help youth to be resilient in the face of poverty and disadvantage, Johnson, director of CRRUCS, said.

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