Incorporating religiosity into a developmental model of positive family functioning across generations.

Abstract

This study evaluated a developmental model of intergenerational continuity in religiosity and its association with observed competency in romantic and parent-child relationships across two generations. Using multi-informant data from the Family Transitions Project, a 20-year longitudinal study of families that began during early adolescence (N = 451), we found that parental religiosity assessed during the youth’s adolescence was positively related to the youth’s own religiosity during adolescence which, in turn, predicted their religiosity after the transition to adulthood. The findings also supported the theoretical model guiding the study, which proposes that religiosity acts as a personal resource that will be uniquely and positively associated with the quality of family relationships. Especially important, the findings demonstrate support for the role of religiosity in a developmental process that promotes positive family functioning after addressing earlier methodological limitations in this area of study, such as cross-sectional research designs, single informant measurement, retrospective reports, and the failure to control for other individual differences.

Religion and Health: Clinical Considerations and Applications

“…These results are consistent with meta-analytic reviews of the literature by others (Mahoney et al, 2001) and by more recent research published in this field (Spilman et al, 2013;David and Staffor, 2013). Among studies with the best methodology (ratings of 7 or higher), 35 of 38 studies reported this finding.…”

Warm and Supportive Parenting Can Discourage Offspring’s Civic Engagement in the Transition to Adulthood

“…In turn, positive parenting may reduce the later risk of unemployment in the offspring (Kokko & Pulkkinen 2000) and appears to be implicated in the intergenerational transmission of social competence and romantic relationship quality (Ehrensaft, Knous-Westfall, & Cohen 2011). Moreover, religiosity, which was shown to predict positive parenting (Spilman, Neppl, Donnellan, Schofield, & Conger 2013), is also a major predictor of civic engagement, especially volunteering, because religious people are often embedded in church communities that espouse helping values and actively recruit volunteers (Verba et al 1995;Wilson 2000).…”

Beyond Religious Rigidities: Religious Firmness and Religious Flexibility as Complementary Loyalties in Faith Transmission

“…Many religious parents desire to pass their own religious beliefs, practices, and commitments on to their children. Indeed, intergenerational transmission of religious belief is a well-established part of family studies (Bengtson et al 2013;Spilman et al 2013). Given the American penchant for change, including religious change, perhaps it is also not surprising that a 2009 study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 44% of Americans reported that they had left the religious affiliation of their childhood (Pew Research Center 2009).…”