Religious status and addictive behaviors: exploring patterns of use and psychological proneness

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Kádár, BK, Péter, L, Paksi, B, Horváth, Z, Felvinczi, K, Eisinger, A, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, Czakó, A, Demetrovics, Z and Andó, B, 2023. Religious status and addictive behaviors: exploring patterns of use and psychological proneness. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 127: 152418. ISSN 0010-440X

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2023.152418

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have emphasized the role of religiosity as both a protective factor and a factor contributing to the success of recovery in the case of addictive beahaviors. However, the associations between religious status and the involvement in distinct addictive behaviors as well as the associations between religious status and psychological factors have not been comprehensively examined. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to extend the literature by examining the (i) relationship between religiosity and distinct addictive behaviors including substance use and behavioral addictions, and (ii) interactive effects of religious status and psychological factors on addictive behaviors.

Material and methods: Data from two representative samples were analyzed (National Survey on Addiction Problems in Hungary [NSAPH]: N = 1385; 46.8% male; mean age = 41.77 years [SD = 13.08]; and Budapest Longitudinal Study [BLS]: N = 3890; 48.4% male; mean age = 27.06 years [SD = 4.76]). Distinct addictive behaviors and psychological factors related to the psychological proneness to addictive behaviors (impulsivity, sensation seeking, rumination, well-being, mentalization, and worry) were comprehensively examined in relation to religious status (religious, agnostic, and non-religious). Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney (MW) tests and multinomial logistic regressions were performed.

Results: Religious individuals showed significantly lower involvement in addictive behaviors whereas agnostic individuals showed significantly higher involvement in addictive behaviors. With regards to psychological factors related to the proneness to addictive behaviors, agnostic individuals showed the highest level of psychological proneness. The results of multinomial regression models showed that religiosity was protective in the NSAPH sample. However, worry could overwrite the protective effect. In the BLS study, the protective role of religiosity was uncertain. It was not protective in itself, but through interaction with sensation seeking, rumination and uncertain mentalization, religiosity can also be protective.

Discussion: The findings highlight the general protective role of religiosity in addictions. However, interaction with some psychological constructs can modify the protective role of religious status. The study also highlights the need to take into account agnostic religious status of individuals in future research. Consequently, further studies are needed to explore the causality and mediating roles between these variables.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Comprehensive Psychiatry
Creators:	Kádár, B.K., Péter, L., Paksi, B., Horváth, Z., Felvinczi, K., Eisinger, A., Griffiths, M.D., Czakó, A., Demetrovics, Z. and Andó, B.
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
Date:	November 2023
Volume:	127
ISSN:	0010-440X
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1016/j.comppsych.2023.152418 DOI 1799641 Other
Rights:	©2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	12 Sep 2023 08:25
Last Modified:	12 Sep 2023 08:25
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/49683