Identifying mediators of the relationship between religiousness/spirituality and alcohol use.

Objective: Religiousness is known to be inversely related to alcohol use and problems, but few studies have attempted to identify mediators of this relationship. We examined beliefs about alcohol, social influences, well-being, and motives for drinking as potential mediators of the relationship between religiousness/spirituality and alcohol use and problems.

Methods: Participants were 315 female and 197 male college students who responded to a survey sent to a stratified (by gender and year in school) random sample. We used path analysis to test models specifying hypothesized mediators of the relationship between several religious/spiritual constructs (identified via factor analysis in previous studies) and alcohol use and problems. Models were tested in the full sample and a subsample consisting of alcohol users only.

Results: The effect of religious/spiritual involvement on alcohol use was mediated by negative beliefs about alcohol, social influences, and spiritual well-being. The effect of religious struggle on alcohol problems was mediated by spiritual well-being. Search for meaning had both direct and indirect (via negative beliefs about alcohol) effects on use and problems. Negative beliefs about alcohol and social influences were related to alcohol use via enhancement motives and, in some models, social motives for drinking. Spiritual well-being was related to alcohol problems via coping motives. Social influences also had direct effects on alcohol use.

Conclusions: Although future studies using longitudinal designs are needed, the study identified several plausible mechanisms by which religiousness/spirituality could causally impact alcohol use and problems. Results also provide further support for the motivational model of alcohol use.