Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb 16:14:1076869.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1076869. eCollection 2023.

Development, religious affiliation, and social context: Substance use disorders in Puerto Rican transitional age youth

David Saunders  1 , Tamara Sussman  1 , Thomas Corbeil  1 , Glorisa Canino  2 , Hector Bird  1 , Margarita Alegria  3 , Cristiane S Duarte  1
Affiliations

Development, religious affiliation, and social context: Substance use disorders in Puerto Rican transitional age youth

David Saunders et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Introduction: Transitional age youth (i. e., ages 16-24; TAY) use higher levels of substances than any age group in the United States. Understanding what factors increase substance use during TAY could suggest novel targets for prevention/intervention. Studies suggest that religious affiliation is inversely associated with substance use disorders (SUDs). However, the association of religious affiliation and SUD, including the role of gender and social context, has not been studied in TAY of Puerto Rican ethnicity.

Methods: Using data from N = 2,004 TAY of Puerto Rican ethnicity across two social contexts-Puerto Rico (PR) and the South Bronx, NY (SBx)-we tested the association of religious identity (Catholic, Non-Catholic Christian, Other/Mixed, and no religious affiliation, or "None"), and four SUD outcomes (alcohol use disorder, tobacco use disorder, illicit SUD, and any SUD). Logistic regression models were used to examine the association between religious identity and SUDs, then we tested for interaction by social context and gender.

Result: Half the sample identified as female; 30, 44, and 25% were 15-20, 21-24, and 25-29 years of age, respectively; 28% of the sample received public assistance. There was a statistically significant difference between sites for public assistance (22 and 33% in SBx/PR, respectively; p < 0.001); 29% of the sample endorsed None (38 and 21% in SBx/PR, respectively.) Compared to None, identifying as Catholic was associated with reduced risk of illicit SUD (OR = 0.51, p = 0.02), and identifying as Non-Catholic Christian with reduced risk for any SUD (OR = 0.68, p = 0.04). Additionally, in PR but not SBx, being Catholic or Non-Catholic Christian was protective for illicit SUD when compared to None (OR = 0.13 and 0.34, respectively). We found no evidence of an interaction between religious affiliation and gender.

Discussion: The percentage of PR TAY who endorse no affiliation is higher than the general PR population, reflective of increasing religious non-affiliation among TAY across cultures. Critically, TAY with no religious affiliation are twice as likely as Catholics to have illicit SUD, and 1.5 times as likely as Non-Catholic Christians to have any SUD. Endorsing no affiliation is more adverse for illicit SUD in PR than the SBx, underscoring the importance of social context.

Keywords: Puerto Rico; alcohol use disorder; illicit substance use disorder; religion; religiosity; religious denomination; tobacco use disorder; transitional age youth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. SAMHSA . Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results From the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. HHS Publication No. PEP21-07-01-003, NSDUH Series H-56. Rockville, MD (2021).
    1. Burke CW, Wilens TE. Transitional-age youth with substance use disorders. Psychiatr Ann. (2022) 52:222–6. 10.3928/00485713-20220520-01 - DOI
    1. Bukstein OG. Challenges and gaps in understanding substance use problems in transitional age youth. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. (2017) 26:253–69. 10.1016/j.chc.2016.12.005 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hodge DR, Cardenas P, Montoya H. Substance use: spirituality and religious participation as protective factors among rural youths. Soc Work Res. (2001) 25:153–61. 10.1093/swr/25.3.153 - DOI
    1. Michalak L, Trocki K, Bond J. Religion and alcohol in the US National Alcohol Survey: How important is religion for abstention and drinking? Drug Alcohol Depend. (2007) 87:268–80. 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2006.07.013 - DOI - PubMed