Abstract
A growing literature has linked religiousness and spirituality (R/S) to substance use and abuse. However, it is not clear that R/S has causal effects on substance use. Currently, there is a relative lack of genetically sensitive examinations in the literature attendant to R/S effects. Given that behavioral genetic analyses have illustrated the influence of genetic factors on substance use and adherence to R/S worldviews, genetic confounding is a concern. The current study employed a sample of monozygotic twins discordant on religiousness, spirituality, and spiritual transformation to assess effects on substance use and abuse. Bivariate and multivariate models indicated a general lack of effect of R/S on substance use and abuse but did illustrate a dampening influence of religiousness on general (but not problematic) alcohol use. The findings highlight the importance of controlling for genetic and shared familial factors in examinations of the religiousness-spirituality-substance use nexus.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 340-355 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Drug Issues |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Health(social science)
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Psychiatry and Mental health