title: [Study on religious addiction as a potential novel type of behavioral addiction in an adolescent population].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Religious addiction is a new behavioral addiction, featured with pathologic religious activity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The authors examined whether this new phenomenon appears in adolescence, and whether it correlates with substance use and mental health variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  The General Addiction Screening Tool was used to investigate the presence of religious addiction among youth (N = 656; mean age, 16.5 years; 49.2% females). Besides monthly and lifetime prevalence of substance use, variables of psychological well-being (e.g., depression, aggression, optimism) were also detected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Religiosity was relatively low among adolescents. Nearly 1% of the sample might be characterized as being addicted to religion, 16.2% belonged to the symptomatic group, while 83% of them were asymptomatic. Religious addicts were more likely to be more religious and the role of religion in one's life was more important. Also, they tended to pray more and attend church more frequently. It was also found that amphetamine use was more frequent among the addicts. In terms of mental health level, aggression scored lower and spiritual well-being reached higher level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Religiosity is a vague phenomenon, and further investigation is needed to detect when healthy enthusiastic religiosity turns into religious addiction.
authors.affiliation: Egészségügyi Menedzserképző Központ, Semmelweis Egyetem Budapest.
authors.forename: Eszter
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kovács
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pikó
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D000374:Aggression; D019969:Amphetamine-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012067:Religion; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012574:Schools; D029181:Spirituality; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: addiction; addikció; adolescence; religiosity; religious addiction; serdülők; vallásfüggőség; vallásosság