The Advantages of Raising a Teenager of Faith
The Belief in Positive Spirituality Can Help a Teen Face Life
One factor showing a positive impact across a wide number of teen trouble areas is the teen's belief in God and the attending of regular religious services. Mark D. Regnerus' study Religion and Positive Adolescent Outcomes: A Review of Research and Theory [Review of Religious Research, 2003] addresses several areas where direct links between teenagers and faith seem to be stable and positive.
Areas of Positive Influence
An area showing a positive link with faith is a teenager's resiliency in the face of difficult situations. Resiliency is the ability of the teenager to recover from a bad situation with few effects. Resiliency is essential in surviving changes in peer groups, family changes and stress, and ending of romantic relationships during the teenager years.
Another factor having a wide influence for teens with a faith is their association with positive, supportive peer groups. Their friends tend to exhibit honesty, kindness and other positive aspects of character. Drug use and alcohol use seems to also be lower among these groups. Further, lower cases of pregnancy are reported.
Although peer groups tend to be positive, there were no correlations mentioned between faith and higher academic achievement. However, higher academic achievement was found in another benefit of faith – higher family acceptance and parental involvement.
It is especially true for teens who come from families of faith that they have higher academic scores. Some researchers attribute this to having higher family involvement, which normally envelopes a concern for homework and completion of school projects.
Another marker higher for teens of faith is a better emotional outlook. Problems such as depression and anxiety tend to be lower for the religious teen than the non-religious teen.
Parents who are not religious may wish to encourage their children to attend church with friends and associates or other family members. Also, allowing teenagers to go with their friends to their places of worship during weekly youth activities can have a positive effect.
What is the Right Faith?
One mitigated factor does seem to be the type of faith. Authoritative beliefs, that is beliefs focused on judgment and fear, do not seem to impart the positive effects as religions teaching love and respect for self and others.
All and all, it may not be the specific religion which is important but the set of beliefs teens have. Positive faith beliefs include:
- A loving, supportive God
- A belief in doing good works for others
- A belief in loving self and loving others
- A belief in respecting other religious ideals
Negative faith beliefs include:
- God is often angry at me
- It is likely I will go to hell if I don't act in a certain way
- I must force my beliefs on my friends
- My faith is the only right faith
So long as the teenager's faith reflects positive beliefs, the benefits of the religious practice on the teenager's life are apparent and influential in ways helpful to development. If the teenager proffers the negative faith beliefs, then the positive effects of religious involvement are nullified.
Overall, religious beliefs and a positive spiritual outlook hold an encouraging effect on teenagers. Parents should encourage teens to explore their spirituality and should also embrace a family faith based on a loving, supportive God. Both the teenager's faith and the family's involvement offer positive effects.
Faith Holds Positive Influence
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