Often cited as a developmental and cultural resource, religion has been widely studied. However, fewer studies have explored the relationship between nonorganizational religious involvement (NRI) and psychosocial well-being among Black youth or within ethnic groups of Black youth. This study examined this relationship among 1,170 African American and Caribbean Black youth who participated in the National Survey of American Life–Adolescent Supplement study. Moderated hierarchical regression results showed significant main effects of NRI on life satisfaction, self-esteem, coping, and depressive symptoms after accounting for study covariates (i.e., age, gender, family income, denomination, ethnicity, religious service attendance, and religious socialization). No significant interaction effects were observed between NRI and ethnicity on any of the psychosocial well-being outcomes. Results illuminate a promotive effect of NRI in this sample. Though no significant ethnicity and religiosity interaction effects were observed, findings suggest the importance of NRI as a key intervention target to support better psychosocial well-being among Black youth, in an effort to promote overall youth development.

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The present study seeks to explore the correlations of depressive symptoms among African American youth. The sample included 118 African American preadolescents (age range: 9–12, M = 10.54; SD = 1.02) living in an urban environment. The sample was primarily female (64.4%, n = 76) and in the 4th grade (43.2%, n = 51). Depressive symptoms were negatively associated with spiritual well-being, self-esteem and positively associated with exposure to violence and bullying. This study identified correlations as well as predictors of depressive symptoms. The predictors include spiritual well-being, bullying, exposure to violence, and self-esteem. These findings documented individual and social level psychosocial factors as an important determinant of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, these findings provided needed empirical evidence documenting factors that affect depressive symptoms among African American children.