Religious Socialization and Educational Attainment Among African Americans: An Empirical Assessment

Brown, Diane R.; Gary, Lawrence E.

doi:10.2307/2295493

Cited by 63 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Conversely, Smith and Faris (2002) showed that religious U.S. 12 th graders had significantly higher self-esteem and held more-positive attitudes about life in general than their less religious peers. Such personal perceptions are assumed to take place regardless of socio-demographic background and to moderate their explanatory power over risk behaviors.Thus, valuing religions and being involved in a religious community may foster positive selfesteem and perception of self efficacy (Ellison, 1993), or may compensate for low self-esteem by impeding risk behaviors through the formation of pro-social norms and providing role models and a peer environment that are risk avoiding (Brown, 1991). While we cannot examine a causal relationship, we hypothesize that the three religious variables together will add to the Risk behavior, religion, and teenagers.... 10 explanatory power of risk behaviors above and beyond the background variables and self-esteem combined.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent risk behaviors and religion: Findings from a national study

Sinha

Cnaan

Gelles

2006

Journal of Adolescence

308

225

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Too few studies have assessed the relationship between youth risk behaviors and religiosity using measures which captured the varied extent to which youth are engaged in religion. This study applied three measures of religiosity and risk behaviors. In addition, this study ascertained information about youths' participation in religious activities from a parent or caretaker. Based on a national random sample of 2,004 teens (ages 11-18), this study indicates that youth perceive religion as important, are active in religious worship and activities, and further shows that perceived importance of religion as well as participation in religious activities are associated with decreased risk behaviors. Looking at ten risk behaviors, religiosity variables were consistently associated with reduced risk behaviors in the areas of: smoking, alcohol use, truancy, sexual activity, marijuana use, and depression. In the case of these six risk variables, religiosity variables were significantly associated with reduced risk behaviors when controlling for family background variables and self esteem. The study highlights the importance of further understanding the relationship between religious variables, background variables, self esteem, and youth risk behaviors. AbstractToo few studies have assessed the relationship between youth risk behaviors and religiosity using measures which captured the varied extent to which youth are engaged in religion. This study applied three measures of religiosity and risk behaviors. In addition, this study ascertained information about youths' participation in religious activities from a parent or caretaker. Based on a national random sample of 2,004 teens (ages 11-18), this study indicates that youth perceive religion as important, are active in religious worship and activities, and further shows that perceived importance of religion as well as participation in religious activities are associated with decreased risk behaviors. Looking at ten risk behaviors, religiosity variables were consistently associated with reduced risk behaviors in the areas of: smoking, alcohol use, truancy, sexual activity, marijuana use, and depression. In the case of these six risk variables, religiosity variables were significantly associated with reduced risk behaviors when controlling for family background variables and self esteem. The study highlights the importance of further understanding the relationship between religious variables, background variables, self esteem, and youth risk behaviors. In addition, a relatively consistent proportion of youth (three in ten) reported that religion played a very important role in their lives (Johnson, Bachman, and O'Malley (1976-1995).However far more youth report that religion is just "important" in their lives: Cnaan, Gelles, and found in a national representative sample of over 2,000 teens (aged 11 to 18) that the majority of youth reported that religion is important in their lives (83.7%). The BarnaResearch Group (1999Group ( , 2000 reported that over half of you...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent risk behaviors and religion: Findings from a national study

Sinha

Cnaan

Gelles

2006

Journal of Adolescence

308

225

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“…Although the findings are consistent between studies, some studies are limited by methodological issues, such as small sample sizes or specific populations (Al-fadhli and Kersen 2010;Brown and Gary 1991). I highlight four studies that have large and broad sample sizes and use well-established datasets, such as the National Study of Adolescent Health, the National Educational Longitudinal Study, and the High School Effectiveness Study.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 92%

The Abider-Avoider Achievement Gap: The Association Between GPA and Religiosity in Public Schools

Horwitz¹

2018

Preprint

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Religion is a powerful social force that is typically ignored in sociological studies of educational attainment. Using nationally representative survey data (N = 2,569) and semi-structured interviews from the National Study of Youth and Religion (N = 30), I test for and explain differences in school grades of five common profiles of religiosity among adolescents in the U.S: Abiders, Adapters, Assenters, Avoiders and Atheists. My quantitative findings suggest that abiders report better grades than avoiders, and the difference is greatest among middle-class families. This pattern holds after controlling for race, religious denomination, sex, mother’s education level, and income. More importantly, the association between religiousness and grades remains after accounting for other factors associated with religiousness, such as increased parental supervision and reduced likelihood of drinking and having sex. My qualitative evidence suggests that this association is a function of greater conscientiousness and agreeableness among abiders. Therefore, I suggest that middle and high schools reward students who are obedient, respectful, and agreeable. Although it is well known that academic performance is associated with income, school grades are also driven by dispositions stemming from religious engagement. This study has implications for how we think about the academic achievement gap.

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“…The assumption underlying research on resilience (including the present study) is that good coping skills can be inferred from observed behaviors (Garmezy and Masten 1986;O'Grady and Metz 1987). Commonly used behavioral indicators of resilience include ratings of academic performance, such as grades and test scores (Brown and Gary 1991;Masten et al 1990), and measures of problem behavior, such as absenteeism, drug abuse, and promiscuous sex (Anderson 1991;Rutter and Quinton 1984;Scott-Jones and Turner 1990). Our analyses examined the association of service participation with a variety of outcomes.…”

Section: Service As a Resilience Factor?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations of Participation in Service Activities with Academic, Behavioral, and Civic Outcomes of Adolescents at Varying Risk Levels

Schmidt

Shumow

Kackar

2011

J Youth Adolescence

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Youth who participate in service activities differ from those who do not on a number of key demographic characteristics like socio-economic status and other indicators of risk; and most studies demonstrating positive outcomes among service participants employ small non-representative samples. Thus, there is little evidence as to whether the outcomes associated with service participation are similar among students with varying levels of risk. The National Household Education Survey of 1999, a large nationally representative cross-sectional data set that focused on community service, was analyzed to investigate associations between the risk status of 4,306 adolescent students (50.2% female; 63.3% European American, M age = 15.9), their participation in community service, and their academic adjustment, behavioral problems, and civic knowledge. Because adolescents who participate in service differ from those who do not with respect to demographic characteristics, propensity score analyses were used to correct for potential selection bias in the examination of these relationships. Analyses tested competing theoretical models of service-protective versus compensatory-among students at varying levels of risk, and suggested that service acts as a compensatory factor with respect to academic, behavioral, and civic outcomes. Propensity score analyses revealed patterns suggesting that, in some cases, students with certain demographic profiles that are themselves related to the likelihood of service participation may benefit from service participation more than others. Findings are discussed in terms of their significance for adolescent development, for planning service programs, and for educational policy.

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Religious Socialization and Educational Attainment Among African Americans: An Empirical Assessment

Cited by 63 publications

References 27 publications

Adolescent risk behaviors and religion: Findings from a national study

Adolescent risk behaviors and religion: Findings from a national study

The Abider-Avoider Achievement Gap: The Association Between GPA and Religiosity in Public Schools

Associations of Participation in Service Activities with Academic, Behavioral, and Civic Outcomes of Adolescents at Varying Risk Levels

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