Exploring Potential Mediators of the Relationship between Adolescent Religiosity and Delinquency Using the Risk and Resilience Framework

Adolescence is a key time in the life cycle stage. Many factors impact youth's ability to successfully transition from adolescence to fully functioning adults, while other factors assist youth with this transition. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine risk and protective factors and their impact on adolescent delinquency outcomes. In particular, this dissertation explores the relationship between adolescent religiosity, often identified in the literature as a protective factor, and delinquency. The risk and resilience literature has stated a need to move beyond identifying risk and protective factors to understanding the mechanisms through which they operate. This dissertation examines whether association with substance using peers and self esteem mediates the relationship between religiosity and delinquency.;Regarding methods, this dissertation uses data from the 2008 Monitoring the Future 12th grader questionnaires. This is a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Religiosity is the key independent variable of interest. The risk and protective factors included in the study, health, past victimization, and school engagement, function as independent variables as well. The mediating variables are self esteem and association with delinquent peers. The dependent variable is adolescent delinquency, which consists of minor and serious drug use, truancy, and crime. Structural equation modeling using Mplus is conducted to analyze the mediation relationship. A secondary analysis involving multiple group analysis with gender and race will attempt to be conducted.;The findings reveal that religiosity is modestly inversely related to delinquency. The relationship between the other risk and protective factors (health, school, and past victimization) and delinquency changes in different analyses. Overall, past victimization is strongly positively correlated with delinquency, health is weakly inversely correlated with delinquency, and school engagement is not significantly correlated with delinquency. There was not support for association with substance using peers and self esteem as mediators between religiosity and delinquency.;Nevertheless, this dissertation provides insight into the religious lives of adolescents. These results also provide more information about risk and protective factors and where more research and attention is needed. Implications for social work practice and policy are discussed.