Abstract
The present study examined the relations between religious faith and alcohol and drug problems in undergraduate college students at a large public university in the Southeastern United States. The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire—Short Form and the Alcohol Problems and Drug Problems scales of the Personality Assessment Inventory were given to 303 undergraduate students. Findings indicated that religious faith was inversely associated with drug and alcohol problems in both males and females. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Gallup, G. H., Jr., & Castelli, J. (1989). The people's religion: American faith in the 90's. New York: Macmillan.
Kendler, K. S., Gardner, C. O., & Prescott, C. A. (1997). Religion, psychopathology, and substance use and abuse: A multi-measure genetic-epidemologic study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 322–329.
Kendler, K. S., Liu, X., Gardner, C. O., McCullough, M. E., Larson, D., & Prescott, C. A. (2003). Dimensions of religiosity and their relationship to lifetime psychiatric and substance use disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 496–503.
Koenig, H. G., George, L. K., Meador, K. G., Blazer, D. G., & Ford, S. M. (1994). Religious practices and alcoholism in southern adult population. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 45, 225–231.
Kus, R. J. (Ed.). (1995). Spirituality and chemical dependency. New York: Haworth Press.
Miller, L., Davies, M., & Greenwald, S. (2000). Religiosity and substance use and abuse among adolescents in the national comorbidity survey. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1190–1197.
Morey, L. C. (1991). The personality assessment inventory: Professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Plante, T. G., & Boccaccini, M. T. (1997). The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire. Pastoral Psychology, 45, 375–387.
Plante, T. G., & Sherman, A. (Eds.). (2001). Faith and health: Psychological perspectives. New York: Guilford.
Plante, T. G., Vallaeys, C. L., Sherman, A. C., & Wallston, K. A. (2002). The development of a brief version of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire. Pastoral Psychology, 50, 359–368.
Plante, T. G., Yancey, S., Sherman, H., & Gueitin, M. (2000). The association between strength of religious faith and psychological functioning. Pastoral Psychology, 48, 405–412.
Pullen, L., Mondricin-Talbott, M. A., West, W. R., & Muenchen, R. (1999). Spiritual high vs high on spirits: is religiosity related to adolescent alcohol and drug abuse. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 6, 3–8.
Sherman, A. C., Plante, T. G., Simonton, S., Adams, D. C., Borris, S. L., & Harbison, C. (1999). Assessing religious faith in medical patients-cross validation of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire. Pastoral Psychology, 48, 129–141.
Storch, E. A., Roberti, J. W., Bravata, E., & Storch, J. B. (2004). Psychometric investigation of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire Short-Form. Pastoral Psychology, 52, 485–489.
Storch, E. A., Storch, J. B., Kovacs, A. H., Okun, A., & Welsh, E. (2003). Intrinsic religiosity and substance use in intercollegiate athletes. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 25, 248–252.
Wills, T. A., Yaeger, A. M., & Sandy, J. M. (2003). Buffering effects of religiosity for adolescent substance use. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 17, 24–31.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Strawser, M.S., Storch, E.A., Geffken, G.R. et al. Religious Faith and Substance Problems in Undergraduate College Students: A Replication. Pastoral Psychology 53, 183–188 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PASP.0000046829.61450.4c
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PASP.0000046829.61450.4c