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Religion and Child Health: Religious Affiliation, Importance, and Attendance and Health Status among American Youth

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  • Barry Chiswick
  • Donka Mirtcheva

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between religious affiliation, importance of religion, and frequency of church attendance and the reported overall health status and psychological health of children and adolescents by age group (6–11, 12–15, and 16–19 years old), using national data from the Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Controlling for child’s initial health, individual and family demographic characteristics, and socio-economic status, differences were found by age and measures of religion and health. Probit analysis revealed a generally positive and statistically significant association between religion and health, especially for the psychological health of children ages 12–15. Mitigating the issue of selection bias on observable characteristics, the Propensity Score Matching analysis generated similar positive associations between religion and child health. These findings are consistent with the corresponding literature on adults. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013

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  • Barry Chiswick & Donka Mirtcheva, 2013. "Religion and Child Health: Religious Affiliation, Importance, and Attendance and Health Status among American Youth," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 120-140, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:34:y:2013:i:1:p:120-140
    DOI: 10.1007/s10834-012-9312-5
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    2. Fischer, Justina A.V. & Pastore, Francesco, 2015. "Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis: Religion and Female Employment over Time," IZA Discussion Papers 9244, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Monica Roman & Klaus F. Zimmermann & Aurelian-Petrus Plopeanu, 2022. "Religiosity, Smoking and Other Risky Behaviors," Journal of Economics, Management and Religion (JEMAR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(01), pages 1-27, July.
    4. Christopher R. Tamborini, 2021. "Family and Health over the Past Decade: Review of Selected Studies and Areas of Future Inquiry," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 62-69, July.
    5. Jane Cooley Fruehwirth & Sriya Iyer & Anwen Zhang, 2019. "Religion and Depression in Adolescence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(3), pages 1178-1209.
    6. Lindsey Roberts & Victoria Banyard & John Grych & Sherry Hamby, 2019. "Well-Being in Rural Appalachia: Age and Gender Patterns Across Five Indicators," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 391-410, February.
    7. Jason Delaney & John Winters, 2014. "Sinners or Saints? Preachers’ Kids and Risky Health Behaviors," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 464-476, December.
    8. Juyoung Jang & Sharon M. Danes, 2016. "Social Capital Accessibility of Intermarrieds," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 553-565, December.
    9. Chang-Yong Jang & Eun-Hyung Cho & Yi-Sub Kwak & TaeEung Kim, 2020. "The Relationship between Flourishing and Depression in Children in the U.S. Using a Socioecological Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-11, November.
    10. Olga Popova, 2016. "Suffer for the Faith? Parental Religiosity and Children’s Health," Working Papers 356, Leibniz Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (Institute for East and Southeast European Studies).
    11. Wang, Qunyong & Lin, Xinyu, 2014. "Does religious beliefs affect economic growth? Evidence from provincial-level panel data in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 277-287.
    12. Samantha Rawlings & Zahra Siddique, 2020. "Domestic Violence and Child Mortality in the Developing World," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 82(4), pages 723-750, August.
    13. TaeEung Kim & Chang-Yong Jang & Minju Kim, 2020. "Socioecological Predictors on Psychological Flourishing in the US Adolescence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-9, October.

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