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Original Article

Racial Differences in Adolescent Drug Use: The Impact of Religion

, &
Pages 1311-1332 | Published online: 03 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

Contrary to popular stereotypes, current studies of adolescent populations suggest that Black teens are less likely to use illicit drugs than are White teens. This study investigates the extent to which differences in religiosity are responsible for racial differences in drug use. Using data from a national survey of United States high school seniors, our results indicate that religion does provide some protection from drug use by adolescents. However, religiosity has less of an impact on the drug use of Black adolescents, perhaps as a result of the diverse roles of the Black church.

Estudios recientes sugeren que, al contrario de lo que los esterotípicos nos dicen, es memos probable que un adolescente de la raza negra use drogas illícitas que un adolescente blanco. Usando dados de una amuestra nacional de estudiantes secundarios (seniores), el presente estudio investiga la influencia de la religiosidad en explicar las diferencias entre estos dos grupos raciales en el uso de drogas. Los resultados indican que religión tiene un papel protectante en evitar el uso de drogas entre los adolescentes, pero que esta influencia es menos entre los adolescentes negros, resultado talvez de los diversos papeles de la iglesia negra.

Contrairement aux croyances populaires, d'actuelles enquětes sur les population d'adolescents révèlent que les adolescents noir sont moins disposés à utiliser les drogues que les adolescents de race blanche. La présente investigation explores l'ampleur avec laquelle les differences en niveau de croyances religieuses influencent les differences entre les races dans l'usage de la drogue. Les resultats obenus en utilisant les données d'une enquěte nationale sur des étudiants en quatrième année de l'école secondaire, suggerent que la religion offre quelque forme protection contre l'usage de la drogue par les adolescents. Cependent, la croyance religieuse a moins d'impact sur l'usage de la drogue par les adolescents noire; peut-ětre à cause des diverses roles joués par l'église noire.

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