Religion-Supported Programs and Teens’ Alcohol Use: Investigating the Influence of Involvement in Religion-Supported Extracurricular Activities on the Alcohol Use of Religious and Secular Teens

Amy Adamczyk, City University of New York

With the advent of Charitable Choice funding and the expansion of many programs oriented towards young people, there are an increasing number of opportunities for American teens to participate in extracurricular activities supported by religious groups. This study investigates the influence of involvement in religion-supported extracurricular activities on drinking alcohol and getting drunk. Special attention is given to the role of peers for understanding why involvement in religion-supported extracurricular activities might discourage alcohol use among both secular and religious teens. Using two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health this study finds that involvement in religion-supported programs reduces alcohol use among both secular and religious teen. Friends’ alcohol and drug use do not appear to be the mechanism that explains why teens involved in religion-supported extracurricular programs are less likely to drink and get drunk. Rather, other processes seem to be at work.