RT Article
T1 The Influence of Religious Factors on Drinking Behavior Among Young Indigenous Sami and Non-Sami Peers in Northern Norway
JF Journal of religion and health
VO 50
IS 4
SP 1024
OP 1039
A1 Spein, Anna Rita
A1 Kristiansen, Roald E.
A1 Kvernmo, Siv E.
A1 Melhus, Marita
LA English
PB Springer Science + Business Media B. V.
YR 2011
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1668808382
AB It has been hypothesized that Laestadianism has contributed to the less drinking observed among indigenous Sami. This paper further investigates the bivariate protective influence of Sami ethnicity on youth drinking behavior using logistic regressions. We simultaneously controlled for the influence of religious revival movements (Laestadianism or evangelic) and religious importance (being personally Christian), in addition to socio-demographics and parental factors. Cross-sectional data from the 1994/95 North Norwegian Youth Study including 2,950 (675 Sami) 15-19 year-old high school students (RR: 85%) was used. Sami ethnicity was statistically significant for two out of six alcohol outcome measures, after adjustment for religiosity and other covariates, indicating less current drinking and party drinking. Religiousness was associated with higher youth and parental abstinence across ethnicities. Generally, stronger protective influences on drinking behavior were found for religious importance (being personally Christian) than religious affiliation (Laestadianism). The non-significance between Sami and non-Sami drinking may partly be explained by ethnic differences in religiosity, but also socio-demographics (e.g., residing in the Sami Highland) and parental factors (e.g., abstinence) contributed to such a result. Laestadianism`s profound impact on Sami culture, and its strong anti-alcohol norms may have contributed to a religious-socio-cultural context of abstinence.
K1 Adolescents
K1 Alcohol
K1 Laestadianism
K1 Religion
K1 Sami
DO 10.1007/s10943-010-9335-x