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Abstract: This study investigates the association between adolescence active and subjective religiousness and adult alcohol consumption utilizing data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Prior studies, longitudinal and cross-sectional, have shown that religious affiliation and increased dedication to religion is associated with decreased alcohol consumption. These studies largely generalize individuals’ level of religious affiliation into broad terms like “religiousness” and “religiosity”, which neglects the intricate layers of religious beliefs, behaviors and attitudes, thereby simplifying a complex construct into broad categories. This study, however, measured the impact of religiousness on alcohol consumption in 2 different ways: subjective and active religiousness. Subjective religiousness encompasses deeply held personal beliefs, while active religiousness involves outward expressions of faith through participation in religious activities and community engagement. When analyzed independently, both dimensions of adolescent religiousness (specific levels of active religiousness) were found to be significantly associated with a decrease in adult alcohol consumption, but multivariate regression analysis confirmed that active religiousness notably decreases adult alcohol consumption frequency at the extreme frequencies of attendance. In contrast, subjective religiousness does not exert a measurable independent effect. This discrepancy highlights the potential confounding role of active religious practices over personal religious sentiments.
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QAC-POSTER-7