A new study has revealed that religious youth are less likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol.
Researchers at Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion, the University of Akron and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine found that that young people who connect to a "higher power" may feel a greater sense of purpose and are less likely to be bothered by feelings of not fitting in.
Researchers used four measures to conduct the study; alcohol or drug use, craving for alcohol or drugs; prosocial behaviors (service to others); and self-centered or narcissistic behavior.
40 percent of youths who entered treatments as agnostic or atheist identified themselves as spiritual or religious at discharge, which correlated with a decreased likelihood of testing positive for alcohol and drugs.
Researchers also mentioned that "daily spiritual experiences" such as prayer or worship also were associated with "a greater likelihood of sexual abstinence, increased prosocial behaviors and reduced narcissistic behaviors.
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Byron Johnson, co-director of Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion, said that 25 percent of the millennial generation, people born between 1980 and 2000, were not attached to any particular faith.
The study concluded that changes in spirituality during treatment might serve as the "switch" that moves youth off the track of substance dependency and onto the track of recovery and enhanced well-being.
The study is published in the journal Alcohol Treatment Quarterly.
