title: The influence of religiosity and spirituality on drinking behaviors: differences between students attending two southern universities.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine if students (n = 431) from two southern universities-one in the "buckle" of the Bible-belt, the other a southern "border" state-have different drinking behaviors depending on their religiosity and spirituality. Approximately 95% of students indicated that they had at least one drink of alcohol during their lives, with almost 82% reporting that they used alcohol in the past 30 days. Binge drinking among underage students increased every year (approximately 43% to almost 70%). Students from the buckle university had higher degrees of religiosity and spirituality and reported fewer unhealthy drinking behaviors than those from the border university. By creating a learning environment where students are encouraged to increase the spiritual dimension of health, health educators may alleviate potentially deadly consequences of alcohol.
authors.affiliation: Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN 37044, USA. dennisdi@apsu.edu
authors.forename: Dixie L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Dennis
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Muller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015144:Southeastern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D029181:Spirituality; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult