The Effect of Adolescent-Parent Relationships on Adolescent Religiosity

Abstract

The relationship between adolescents and their parents has a significant impact on their positive development into adulthood. This study analyzes data from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) in order to determine if an adolescent’s relationship with his or her parents has an impact on the religiosity of adolescents between the ages of 17-24 years old. This study contends that religion can be an important aspect of positive youth development for older adolescents. Utilizing data from the NSYR, two major factors describing adolescent religiosity were discovered: adolescent religious importance and adolescent respect for religion. The adolescent-parent relationship factors of mother-adolescent and father-adolescent relationships were tested against the two factors of adolescent religiosity to determine the effect of adolescent-parent relationships on adolescent religiosity. The study determined that adolescent-parent relationships have only a minimal effect on adolescent religiosity of adolescents 17-24 years old. This is an important finding that provides researchers and practitioners a glimpse into the influences of religion on older adolescents.