Saunders David, Sussman Tamara, Corbeil Thomas, Canino Glorisa, Bird Hector, Alegria Margarita, Duarte Cristiane S
Center for Intergenerational Psychiatry, Division of Child Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States.
Behavioral Sciences Research Institute, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, PR, United States.
Front Psychiatry. 2023 Feb 16;14:1076869. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1076869. eCollection 2023.
Transitional age youth (i. e., ages 16-24; TAY) use higher levels of substances than any age group in the United States. Understanding what factors increase substance use during TAY could suggest novel targets for prevention/intervention. Studies suggest that religious affiliation is inversely associated with substance use disorders (SUDs). However, the association of religious affiliation and SUD, including the role of gender and social context, has not been studied in TAY of Puerto Rican ethnicity.
Using data from = 2,004 TAY of Puerto Rican ethnicity across two social contexts-Puerto Rico (PR) and the South Bronx, NY (SBx)-we tested the association of religious identity (Catholic, Non-Catholic Christian, Other/Mixed, and no religious affiliation, or "None"), and four SUD outcomes (alcohol use disorder, tobacco use disorder, illicit SUD, and any SUD). Logistic regression models were used to examine the association between religious identity and SUDs, then we tested for interaction by social context and gender.
Half the sample identified as female; 30, 44, and 25% were 15-20, 21-24, and 25-29 years of age, respectively; 28% of the sample received public assistance. There was a statistically significant difference between sites for public assistance (22 and 33% in SBx/PR, respectively; < 0.001); 29% of the sample endorsed None (38 and 21% in SBx/PR, respectively.) Compared to None, identifying as Catholic was associated with reduced risk of illicit SUD (OR = 0.51, = 0.02), and identifying as Non-Catholic Christian with reduced risk for any SUD (OR = 0.68, = 0.04). Additionally, in PR but not SBx, being Catholic or Non-Catholic Christian was protective for illicit SUD when compared to None (OR = 0.13 and 0.34, respectively). We found no evidence of an interaction between religious affiliation and gender.
The percentage of PR TAY who endorse no affiliation is higher than the general PR population, reflective of increasing religious non-affiliation among TAY across cultures. Critically, TAY with no religious affiliation are twice as likely as Catholics to have illicit SUD, and 1.5 times as likely as Non-Catholic Christians to have any SUD. Endorsing no affiliation is more adverse for illicit SUD in PR than the SBx, underscoring the importance of social context.
转型期青年（即16 - 24岁；TAY）在美国使用物质的水平高于其他任何年龄组。了解哪些因素会增加转型期青年的物质使用量，可能会为预防/干预提供新的目标。研究表明，宗教归属与物质使用障碍（SUDs）呈负相关。然而，在波多黎各裔的转型期青年中，宗教归属与物质使用障碍的关联，包括性别和社会背景的作用，尚未得到研究。
利用来自波多黎各裔2004名转型期青年在两个社会背景下的数据——波多黎各（PR）和纽约南布朗克斯区（SBx）——我们测试了宗教身份（天主教、非天主教基督教、其他/混合宗教以及无宗教归属，即“无”）与四种物质使用障碍结果（酒精使用障碍、烟草使用障碍、非法物质使用障碍以及任何物质使用障碍）之间的关联。使用逻辑回归模型来检验宗教身份与物质使用障碍之间的关联，然后我们按社会背景和性别测试了交互作用。
样本中有一半被认定为女性；分别有30%、44%和25%的人年龄在15 - 20岁、21 - 24岁和25 - 29岁；28%的样本接受公共援助。不同地点在接受公共援助方面存在统计学上的显著差异（SBx/PR分别为22%和33%；P < 0.001）；29%的样本表示无宗教归属（SBx/PR分别为38%和21%）。与无宗教归属者相比，认定为天主教徒与非法物质使用障碍风险降低相关（OR = 0.51，P = 0.02），认定为非天主教基督教徒与任何物质使用障碍风险降低相关（OR = 0.68，P = 0.04）。此外，在波多黎各而非南布朗克斯区，与无宗教归属者相比，成为天主教徒或非天主教基督教徒对非法物质使用障碍具有保护作用（OR分别为0.13和0.34）。我们没有发现宗教归属与性别之间存在交互作用的证据。
波多黎各转型期青年中表示无宗教归属的比例高于波多黎各的总体人口，这反映出不同文化背景下转型期青年中宗教无归属情况的增加。至关重要的是，无宗教归属的转型期青年患非法物质使用障碍的可能性是天主教徒的两倍，患任何物质使用障碍的可能性是非天主教基督教徒的1.5倍。在波多黎各，无宗教归属对非法物质使用障碍的不利影响比对南布朗克斯区更大，这凸显了社会背景的重要性。
