Religion and gender as influences on adolescent behavior

¶ … Paula Wart, entitled Religion Can Influence Your Teen's Behaviour, religion is considered an important element of living by more than half of American high school students (Wart, 2004). Wart indicates that it was found from the report of a research center, Child Trends, that belonging to a religious group presents positive influences on the behavior of adolescents. This includes an individual's lower rate of participation in activities that involve drugs, alcohol, and sex, and the positive attitude and outlook in life of the individual presumably reflecting the religious teachings he learn from his group.

In support to the theory that religion promotes positive behaviors on American Youth, Josh McDowell, in his How Religion Affects Teens, indicates the following effects on how religion affects teens.

Parental religious devotion protects against major delinquency

Buffering effect of religiosity for adolescent substance use

Sociologists find that religiously active families tend to have stronger family relationships

Igniting a moral and spiritual revolution

Strong religious views decrease teens' likelihood of having sex

Gender

Gender determines the different factors on how we are identified in the society (Toomey, 2001). If we were to consider a stereotype of a sexist society, our gender would definitely affect our behavior that includes how we relate to people, how we react, and how we present ourselves as individuals. Toomey (2001) indicated that according to a survey made on students, a large percentage of girls indicate that how they behave are made in accordance to their gender. For instance, the survey shows the following.

... 81% of girls polled said they are expected to be kind and caring, 74% said they were expected to dress the right way, 65% said they were expected to spend a lot of time on housework and taking care of younger siblings. The most telling statistic can be found in the 63% of both boys and girls who believe that girls are under pressure to please everyone and 56% say girls are expected to speak softly and not cause trouble.

In view of this, boys and girls may base their behavior from the beliefs on how their gender must behave. Thus, influencing their behaviour in accordance to their gender. Although it can be said that nowadays equality in the execution of rights is being practiced in both men and women, where women has the right to do what men can do, and vice versa, it cannot be denied that there are still parts in our behavior where we act in accordance to our gender.

Value and Attitude Differences

Value and attitude differences can be considered as factors that can influence the behavior of individuals. One example of this, a study conducted by Rubin and Hubbard (2003), indicated that individuals who are aggressive and rejected tend to engage in unfair play and tend to make negative and argumentative verbalizations (Rubing and Hubbard, 2003). The rejection that an individual feels may cause him to demonstrate the same rejection to his peers. Thus, influencing him to behave in a negative manner.

Value and attitude differences, such as in group playing, affect the behavior of individuals in the group, specifically to the average individuals with normal attitudes, because they have to adopt on the negative attitudes that they may encounter from the others.