Religiosity and Desistance From Drug Use

Abstract

Recent research acknowledges an inverse relationship between religiosity and crime (though some claim it is a modest one), but no desistance theories to date include religiosity in their model to help explain desistance from drug use. A better understanding of how religiosity is related to the initiation of and desistance from drug use can lead to more effective preventive and rehabilitative interventions. Data derived from Wave 5 to Wave 7 of the National Youth Survey are employed to test whether religiosity exerts an effect on initiation of and desistance from drug use. The findings suggest religious behavior has a direct effect on individuals' desistance from marijuana and hard-drug use. On the other hand, religious salience has a significant deterrent effect only on the onset of drug use; it does not have a significant effect on individuals' desistance from drugs. Policy implications are discussed, and future research suggestions are offered.

Implicit Religion, Explicit Religion and Attitude Toward Substances

“…This would tend to suggest that implicit religion (operationalized as attachment to Christian rites of passage) may work in the lives of individuals in the same way as explicit religion to generate moral awareness and a sense of prohibition toward experiences that have the potential to hinder human flourishing. This is consistent with the findings of previous empirical studies which demonstrate that religiosity (variously defined) provides a protective force against the use of and attitudes toward substances among young people (Regnerus & Elder, 2003;Chu, 2007;Steinman, Ferketich, & Sahr, 2008;Toussaint, 2009;Brechting, Brown, Salsman, Sauer, & Holeman, 2010;Rasic, Kisely, & Langille, 2011;Mellor & Freeborn, 2011;Fawcett, Francis, Linkletter, & Robbins, 2012). …”

“…In general religion is shown to provide a protective force against the use of substances and inhibits the development of positive attitudes toward substances. For example, empirical studies exploring the relationship between explicit religiosity and substance use tend to demonstrate that higher levels of church attendance are associated with lower levels of alcohol consumption, drunkenness and alcohol-related problems among young people and adults (Cosper, Okraku, & Neumann, 1987;Lubben, Chi, & Kitano, 1988;Clarke, Beeghley, & Cochran, 1990;Cochran, Beeghley & Bock, 1992;Toussaint, 2009;Brechting, Brown, Salsman, Sauer, & Holeman, 2010;Rasic, Kisely, & Langille, 2011;Fawcett, Francis, Linkletter, & Robbins, 2012), as well as lower levels of drug use (including cannabis, heroin, tranquilizers, LSD, cocaine and heroin) among young people and adults (Sloane & Potvin, 1986;Francis & Mullen, 1993;Mullen & Francis, 1995;Cook, Goddard, & Westall, 1997;Regnerus & Elder, 2003;Chu, 2007;Steinman, Ferketich, & Sahr, 2008;Mellor & Freeborn, 2011). However, this general finding has been questioned by some empirical studies which report no relationship between church attendance and drinking behaviour (Margulies, Kessler, & Kandel, 1977;Francis, 1994), drug-taking attitudes (Pettersson, 1991) and drug-use (Corwyn & Benda, 2000;Corwyn, 2002).…”

Religious Involvement and Dynamics of Marijuana Use: Initiation, Persistence, and Desistence

“…We know of only three studies that explicitly focus on religiosity (or spirituality) and desistence. Chu (2007) found that frequency of church attendance was associated with desistence from marijuana and other drug use, and religious salience was negatively related to the onset of drug use, in analyses of Waves 5-7 of the National Youth Survey. Like most studies, however, Chu's (2007) study utilized limited measures of religiosity, with single items measuring religious behavior (church attendance) and religious salience (perceived importance of religion).…”

Religiosity, Job Status and Whistle-Blowing: Evidence from Micro-Finance Companies

“…The following section reviews empirical literature on the relationship between the independent variables, thus Religiosity and Job Status and the dependent variable, thus Whistle-Blowing in order to formulate hypothesis for the study 4.01 RELIGIOSITY AND WHISTLE-BLOWING Othman and Hariri (2012) conceptualized that religiosity influences whistle-blowing intentions by other studies linking religiosity to human behaviors like drug abuse (Chu 2007;Kendler, et al, 2003;Stylianou, 2004). Ferm (1963) has earlier stated that individual described as religious are likely to clench on certain religious beliefs and also practice them on a daily bases.…”