Religious service attendance typologies and African American substance use: a longitudinal study of the protective effects among young adult men and women

Purpose: This study sought to identify variation by gender in the associations between religious service attendance from adolescence to young adulthood and seven measures of lifetime and short-term substance use. Methods: To conduct this nationally representative study, data from the Add Health Surveys was abstracted from Waves I and IV (N = 3,223) to construct four types of service attendance (non-attenders, attenders only as adolescents, attenders only in young adulthood, and consistent attenders). A series of logistic regressions were conducted to identify the independent effects of each pattern of service attendance on each substance among all black young adults, as well as male and female sub-samples. Results: Analysis revealed consistent attenders were generally less likely to use substances, with the effects being strongest among females. Among young adult only attenders, males recorded lower odds across all three short-term measures whereas females reported lower odds only for monthly cigarette use. Conclusion: The protective effects of religious service attendance are more robust for African Americans who consistently attend in adolescence and young adulthood, especially among females.