Are Religious Teens Nice Kids? Faith and Congeniality among American Adolescents

One body of extant research has documented the social contours and positive effects of teen religiosity, while another has explored the religious sources of social congeniality ("niceness") among adult Americans. This study integrates these parallel bodies of scholarship by examining the religious bases of niceness among American teens. Using post-hoc interviewer ratings from wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we examine the degree to which religious teens are perceived more positively than their nonreligious peers. Associations linked to six dimensions of teen religiosity are considered. Select facets of teen religiosity are associated with more positive interviewer ratings, particularly for interpersonal warmth, thereby providing modest support for hypothesized patterns. Findings are interpreted in light of current theories of religious involvement, interpersonal dispositions, and social competencies

Developmental psychology · Extant taxon · Faith · Interpersonal communication · Religiosity · Scholarship · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology

• The Variable Association Between Religiosity and Delinquency

  Open Access•Chase L Montagnet•Crime & Delinquency•2023

  Incluir item

• The Impact of Civic and Religious Social Capital on the Antisocial Attitudes of the Youth

  Open Access•Željko Pavić•Societies•2021

  Incluir item

• Forbidden Fruit

  Mark D Regnerus, Mark Regnerus•Forbidden Fruit•2007

  Incluir item

• The relationship between spirituality and religiosity on psychological outcomes in adolescents and emerging adults

  Open Access•Julie E Yonker, Chelsea A Schnabelrauch et al.•Journal of Adolescence•2012

  Incluir item

• Religiosity and prosocial behaviours in adolescence

  Sam A Hardy, Gustavo Carlo•Journal of Moral Education•2005

  Incluir item

• Bowling alone

  Open Access•Robert D Putnam•Proceedings of the 2000 ACM…•2000

  Incluir item

• The Sage Handbook of the Sociology of Religion

  James A Beckford, James Beckford et al.•The SAGE Handbook of the…•2007

  Incluir item

• Three religious orientations and five personality factors

  M Robbins, Leslie J Francis et al.•Mental Health Religion & Culture•2010

  Incluir item

• Intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity in preadolescence and adolescence

  Avidan Milevsky, Mary J Levitt•Mental Health Religion & Culture•2004

  Incluir item

• Religiosity, subjective well-being, self-esteem, and anxiety among Kuwaiti Muslim adolescents

  Ahmed M Abdel-Khalek•Mental Health Religion & Culture•2011

  Incluir item

• Religiosity, happiness, health, and psychopathology in a probability sample of Muslim adolescents

  Ahmed M Abdel-Khalek•Mental Health Religion & Culture•2007

  Incluir item

• ‘To Whom Much Has Been Given…’

  Open Access•J Z Park, Christian Smith•Journal for the Scientific Study…•2000

  Incluir item

• Soul Searching

  Christian Smith, Melinda Lundquist Denton•Soul searching•2005

  Incluir item

• Spirituality, Religiosity, and Thriving Among Adolescents

  Elizabeth M Dowling, Steinunn Gestsdóttir et al.•Applied Developmental Science•2003

  Incluir item

• Family Disruption and Racial Variation in Adolescent and Emerging Adult Religiosity

  Michael L Denton, Jenifer L Culver et al.•Sociology of Religion•2015

  Incluir item

• If It Wasn’t for the Church

  Open Access•Nyasha Grayman-Simpson, Jacqueline S Mattis•Journal of African American Studies•2012

  Incluir item

• Religion and civic engagement among America's youth

  Open Access•Troy Gibson, TJ Gibson•The Social Science Journal•2008

  Incluir item

• Religion and U.S. Secondary School Students

  Open Access•John M Wallace, Tyrone A Forman et al.•Youth & Society•2003

  Incluir item

• A Research Note on Religion and Morality

  S Philip Morgan•Social Forces•1983

  Incluir item

• Religion as a Resource for Positive Youth Development

  Paul E King, Pamela Ebstyne King et al.•Developmental Psychology•2004

  Incluir item

• Measuring Five Dimensions of Religiosity across Adolescence

  Open Access•Lisa D Pearce, George M Hayward et al.•Review of Religious Research•2017

  Incluir item

• Gender and Values

  Ann M Beutel, Margaret Mooney Marini•American Sociological Review•1995

  Incluir item

• Religion, self-regulation, and self-control

  Michael E Mccullough, Brian L B Willoughby•Psychological Bulletin•2009

  Incluir item

• Race and Formal Volunteering

  Marc A Musick, John Wilson et al.•Social Forces•2000

  Incluir item

• The Measure of American Religion

  B Steensland, J Z Park et al.•Social Forces•2000

  Incluir item

• Are Religious People Nice People? Evidence from the National Survey of Black Americans

  C G Ellison•Social Forces•1992

  Incluir item

• Who Gives to the Poor? The Influence of Religious Tradition and Political Location on the Personal Generosity of Americans toward the Poor

  Mark D Regnerus, Mark Regnerus et al.•Journal for the Scientific Study…•1998

  Incluir item

• Religious Involvement, Social Ties, and Social Support in a Southeastern Community

  C G Ellison, L K George•Journal for the Scientific Study…•1994

  Incluir item

• Attribution, Roles and Religion

  Owe Wikstrom•Journal for the Scientific Study…•1987

  Incluir item

• Sunden's Role Theory and Glossolalia

  Nils G Holm•Journal for the Scientific Study…•1987

  Incluir item

• Sundén's Role-Taking Theory

  Donald Capps•Journal for the Scientific Study…•1982

  Incluir item

• Adolescents' Transition to First Intercourse, Religiosity, and Attitudes about Sex

  Andrew M MEIER•Social Forces•2003

  Incluir item

• The Dynamics and Correlates of Religious Service Attendance in Adolescence

  Open Access•Jessica Halliday Hardie, Lisa D Pearce et al.•Youth & Society•2016

  Incluir item

• The Effects of Religion and Gender on Well-Being, Substance Use, and Academic Engagement Among Rural Adolescents

  Open Access•Alyssa S Milot, Alyssa Milot et al.•Youth & Society•2009

  Incluir item

• Religiosity, Family Orientation, and Life Satisfaction of Adolescents in Four Countries

  Open Access•Colette Sabatier, Boris Mayer et al.•Journal of Cross-Cultural…•2011

  Incluir item

• Religious Pathways from Adolescence to Adulthood

  Open Access•Bo-Hyeong Jane Lee, Bo Hyeong Jane Lee et al.•Journal for the Scientific Study…•2017

  Incluir item

• Render Unto Caesar What Is Caesar's

  Open Access•Haroid G Grasmick, Robert J Bursik et al.•Sociological Quarterly•1991

  Incluir item

• Patterns of Religious Mobility Among Black Americans

  Open Access•C G Ellison, D E Sherkat•Sociological Quarterly•1990

  Incluir item

• Theorizing Religious Effects Among American Adolescents

  Open Access•Christian Smith•Journal for the Scientific Study…•2003

  Incluir item

• Religion, networks, and neighborliness

  Open Access•Valerie A Lewis, Carol Ann Macgregor et al.•Social Science Research•2013

  Incluir item