Social Support, Religious Involvement and Alcohol Use among Students at a Conservative Religious University

Abstract

The misuse of alcohol among college students remains a significant public health concern in the United States. Excessive drinking among college students has been linked to numerous negative consequences, including rape, impaired academic performance, absenteeism from work and school and damaged social relations. This study examined whether religious involvement and social support played a role in reducing the frequency of alcohol use. A non-random convenience sample of 364 students from a larger study of 760 college students—18 years old and older—were recruited over a 2 month period. The survey used in this study consisted of 124 items and collected information on areas such as substance misuse, sexual activity, use of pornography, relationships, personal religious practices, and social support. A descriptive analysis and chi-square were performed to determine if there was a relationship between frequency of alcohol use and gender, marital status, student class, GPA, religion, ethnicity and age. Linear regression was conducted to determine if social support and religious involvement were predictors of frequency of alcohol misuse. Multivariate regression analysis was used for predicting religious involvement when including social support while controlling for gender, age, ethnicity and grade. The present study revealed that religious involvement was a predictor for reduced frequency of alcohol use, while social support was not a predictor of lower frequency of alcohol use.

Behavioral Health Risk and Resilience among International Students in the United States: A Study of Socio-demographic Differences

“…Although the role of religion as a protective mechanism among international students has received some scholarly attention (e.g., Hsu et al, 2009), the stress-buffering benefits of religion and spirituality afforded to diverse immigrant populations has been widely discussed (e.g., Hodge, Cardenas, & Montoya, 2001;Hsu et al, 2009). Among U.S. college students, religion is associated with reduced alcohol use (Galen & Rogers, 2004;Thompson, 2017). Given the positive association that emerged between religious affiliation and resilience in the current study, the findings converge to tentatively suggest that religiosity may mitigate the stressors that render some international students vulnerable to binge-drinking behavior.…”

Population Attributable Fraction of Early Age of Onset of Alcohol Use in Alcohol Abuse and Dependence: A 3-Year Follow-Up Study in University Students

“…Other studies have shown that subjects with higher levels of religiosity tend to have a more orderly life and behave more prudently [66,67]. Some authors have explained this effect as being due to the influence of peers, as well as the control/protection exercised by the religious community [68]. However, after the other variables were adjusted for, the effect was only maintained in male students, which has not been mentioned in previous studies.…”

The Association between Sociocultural Factors and Substance Use among Haramaya University Students

“…30 A similar case was also observed in the USA at Conservative Religious University. 40 The aforementioned studies explained peer influences were associated factors for young peoples’ involvement in substance use; however, these studies did not specify which type of substances young people involved in.…”

“…As far as parental influences are concerned, studies conducted in universities of North India, 23 in Poland, 39 and in Conservative Religious University of USA 40 also indicated young people involved in substance use because of parental influences. In particular, young people in northern Thailand are involved in alcohol use because of parental influences.…”