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Religion/Spirituality and Adolescent Psychiatric Symptoms: A Review

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Abstract

The aim of the current article is to review the literature on religion and spirituality as it pertains to adolescent psychiatric symptoms. One hundred and fifteen articles were reviewed that examined relationships between religion/spirituality and adolescent substance use, delinquency, depression, suicidality, and anxiety. Ninety-two percent of articles reviewed found at least one significant (p < .05) relationship between religiousness and better mental health. Evidence for relationships between greater religiousness and less psychopathology was strongest in the area of teenage substance use. Methods of measuring religion/spirituality were highly heterogeneous. Further research on the relationship of religion/spirituality to delinquency, depression, suicidality, and anxiety is warranted. Measurement recommendations, research priorities, and clinical implications are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Rachel Elizabeth Dew, David B. Goldston & Harold G. Koenig

  2. 2218 Elder St., Bldg. B2, PO Box 3875 DUMC, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Rachel Elizabeth Dew

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Rachel Elizabeth Dew, Stephanie S. Daniel & Mary Frances Triplett

  4. Center for Youth, Family, and Community Partnerships, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Stephanie S. Daniel

  5. Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC, USA

    Tonya D. Armstrong

  6. Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center Veterans Administration Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Harold G. Koenig

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  1. Rachel Elizabeth Dew
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  2. Stephanie S. Daniel
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  3. Tonya D. Armstrong
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  4. David B. Goldston
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  6. Harold G. Koenig
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Correspondence to Rachel Elizabeth Dew.

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Dew, R.E., Daniel, S.S., Armstrong, T.D. et al. Religion/Spirituality and Adolescent Psychiatric Symptoms: A Review. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 39, 381–398 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-007-0093-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-007-0093-2

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