Surrender to God Predicts Lower Levels of Substance Use Addiction

Authors' Affiliations

Joseph Barnet, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Rebecca Kinsler, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Amanda Trent, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Emily Joyner, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Andrea Clements, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN.

Location

Ballroom

Start Date

4-12-2019 9:00 AM

End Date

4-12-2019 2:30 PM

Poster Number

50

Faculty Sponsor’s Department

Psychology

Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Andrea Clements

Classification of First Author

Graduate Student-Doctoral

Type

Poster: Competitive

Project's Category

Psychology

Abstract or Artist's Statement

Religiousness has been shown to have an inverse relationship with at least some types of addiction. The present study examined whether intrinsic religiousness predicts substance addiction in a sample of participants that included mostly undergraduate students from the Appalachian region, as well as some participants surveyed with the use of social media advertisements. Intrinsic religiousness has been defined as internalizing the tenets of one’s faith. Participants self-reported their religiousness using the Religious Surrender and Attendance Scale – 3 (RSAS-3), which has been shown to measure intrinsic religiousness. Substance use was measured by the TCU Drug Screen V (TCUDS). Religiousness, as measured by the RSAS-3, predicted lower levels of substance use addiction as measured by the TCUDS both continuously and dichotomized: X2 (1, N=517) =8.296, p=.004. The odds ratio for the model was 3.724 95% CI [1.305, 10.625] meaning that the odds of being addicted to a substance was 3.724 times more likely for someone who did not meet the threshold for being high in religious commitment than for someone who did. The present study extends findings regarding religiousness and addiction but further research should be done to analyze different theological traditions and their relationship with health outcomes.

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Apr 12th, 9:00 AM Apr 12th, 2:30 PM

Surrender to God Predicts Lower Levels of Substance Use Addiction

Ballroom

Religiousness has been shown to have an inverse relationship with at least some types of addiction. The present study examined whether intrinsic religiousness predicts substance addiction in a sample of participants that included mostly undergraduate students from the Appalachian region, as well as some participants surveyed with the use of social media advertisements. Intrinsic religiousness has been defined as internalizing the tenets of one’s faith. Participants self-reported their religiousness using the Religious Surrender and Attendance Scale – 3 (RSAS-3), which has been shown to measure intrinsic religiousness. Substance use was measured by the TCU Drug Screen V (TCUDS). Religiousness, as measured by the RSAS-3, predicted lower levels of substance use addiction as measured by the TCUDS both continuously and dichotomized: X2 (1, N=517) =8.296, p=.004. The odds ratio for the model was 3.724 95% CI [1.305, 10.625] meaning that the odds of being addicted to a substance was 3.724 times more likely for someone who did not meet the threshold for being high in religious commitment than for someone who did. The present study extends findings regarding religiousness and addiction but further research should be done to analyze different theological traditions and their relationship with health outcomes.