Religious identity and smoking behavior among adolescents: evidence from entering students at the American University of Beirut.
This survey investigation examines the association between religious identity and smoking behavior in a sample of older adolescents entering the university in Beirut, Lebanon. A culturally appropriate item of religiosity was developed for data collection. Results suggest that religious identity is inversely associated with regular smoking among male and female adolescents, after adjusting for sociodemographic, behavioral, personal, and environmental risk factors. The pattern of associations between weak religious identity, other risk factors, and smoking suggests that risk mechanisms may be gender-differentiated. Overall, findings suggest functional religiosity in late adolescence may assist in promoting the health and decreasing the morbidity of both men and women. Implications for future research are discussed.
Department of Helath Behavior and Education Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, New York NY 10017, USA. ra15@aub.edu.lb
Rema Adel
RA
Afifi Soweid
Marwan
M
Khawaja
Mylene Tewtel
MT
Salem
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012067:Religion; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*