Religiousness as a predictor of alcohol use in high school students

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between religious ness and alcohol use of adolescents. A sample of high school seniors was dr awn based on the second follow-up National Educational Longitudinal Study o f 1988 (NELS:88). Multiple regression was employed using a hierarchical str ategy to determine the impact of religiousness on alcohol use when accounti ng for other factors that have been shown to affect alcohol use. The result s provide support for examining religiousness variables as predictors of al cohol use patterns for adolescents. Also, inconsistent patterns between Asi an-American, Hispanic, African-American, and Caucasian students were detect ed. Implications of the study and suggestions for future research are offer ed.