Public and Private Domains of Religiosity and Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors: Evidence From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

The purpose of this study was to examine the association of public & private domains of religiosity & adolescent health-related outcomes using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative sample of American adolescents in grades 7-12. The results support previous evidence that religiosity is protective for a number of adolescent health-related outcomes. Public religiosity was associated with lower emotional distress while private religiosity was not. Only private religiosity was significantly associated with a lower probability of having had suicidal thoughts or having attempted suicide. Other findings are also discussed. (23 refs)