Study: Religious Teens are More Likely to Avoid These Three Dangers

[Third Hour]

We live in a time period where depression, substance abuse, and pre-marital sex have become commonplace for teens. Parents and leaders of youth are quick to tout the many benefits of attending church and maintaining religious habits like prayer and scripture study as a way to combat unhappiness and temptation. Now there is scientific proof to support these teachings. A newly published study in the American Journal of Epidemiology shows that religious teens tend to avoid many of the pitfalls of adolescence. After analyzing data collected from the responses of over 5,000 young people, the researchers compiled the following statistics: via zwickconstruction.com Those who attended religious services regularly were: 12% less likely to have high depressive symptoms 33% less likely to use illicit drugs 18% more likely to report high levels of happiness 87% more likely to have high levels of forgiveness via LDS Living Those who prayed or meditated frequently were: 30% less likely to start having sex at a young age 40% less likely to subsequently have a sexually transmitted infection 38% more likely to volunteer in their...

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