title: Alcohol use and church attendance among seventh through twelfth grade students, Dominican Republic, 2011.
abstract: Excessive alcohol consumption increases the years of life lost to premature death and disability worldwide. Religion is a mitigating factor in alcohol consumption. A survey in the Dominican Republic showed increasing church attendance by middle and high school students (N = 3,478) was associated with a delay in age at first alcoholic drink, fewer students who had consumed alcohol in the past month (current drinkers), lower alcohol consumption levels, fewer episodes of inebriation, and less heavy episodic alcohol consumption (all P < 0.0001). The results suggested that it may be useful to conceive of church-attending youth as a subset of the adolescent social network when planning primary alcohol prevention programs for young people.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Salud Comunitaria, Clínica Esperanza y Caridad, Iglesia Episcopal Dominicana, Apartado 509, C/ Sánchez #9, esq. Freddy Gaton Arce, Sector Miramar, San Pedro de Macorís, 21000, Dominican Republic, michaeldohn@sams-usa.org.
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Dohn
authors.forename: Santa Altagracia
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Jiménez Méndez
authors.forename: Maximinia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nolasco Pozo
authors.forename: Elizabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Altagracia Cabrera
authors.forename: Anita L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Dohn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D063425:Binge Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D004293:Dominican Republic; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012933:Social Identification; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*