Examining dimensions of religiosity as protective factors against substance consumption in teenagers

(1) Background: Adolescence is a fundamental phase in the development of individuals, during which they are especially sensitive to substance use, both in terms of initiation and the consequences that habitual use can lead to. This explains why the study of the variables that influence substance use by teenagers is a key topic in the public health literature. In this regard, religiosity has been widely reported to be a protective factor against substance use. (2) Methods: In a sample from Tarragona (Spain) (N=1,935 adolescents), we tested whether religion is a protective factor against the use of the most common substances: alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. We differentiate three dimensions of religiosity in the scale used in the studies of Planet Youth: faith, cult attendance, and religious environment. (3) Results: The religiosity scale of Planet Youth, which can be split into three subscales (faith, cult attendance and religious environment), was validated with exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses. We have also checked that religion is indeed a protective factor against substance abuse since the odds ratio for at least one dimension linked to religiosity was often less than one for all examined consumption behaviours. However, the degree of statistical significance depended on the substance assessed. Protection is clearer for cannabis than it is for alcohol and tobacco. Similarly, cult attendance had a significant protective effect. On the other hand, the religious environment appears to be less of a protective factor, while simply being a believer seems to have no preventive effect at all. (4) Conclusions: Religion has a significant ability to prevent substance use. However, the power of that inhibitory capability depends on substance and use behaviour and on the religiosity dimension.