Positive and negative associations between adolescents' religiousness and health behaviors via self-regulation

It has been proposed that self-regulation may be the explanatory mechanism for the relation between religiousness and positive health behaviors. However, different religious motivations have differential effects on a variety of health-related outcomes, which may explain the adverse effects of religiousness found in some studies. The current study hypothesized that higher identification as religious motivation would be linked to higher health-promoting behavior and lower health-risk behavior through higher self-regulation, whereas higher introjection would be linked to lower health-promoting behavior and higher health-risk behavior through lower self-regulation. The sample included 220 adolescents (mean age = 15 years, 55% male) and their primary caregivers. Structural equation modeling results supported the hypotheses and indicated that adolescent self-regulation mediated the relations between their religious motivation and health behavior. The findings suggest that different types of religious motivation may promote or hinder adolescents' health.