Family, School, and Religious Capital Effects on Adolescent Health Behaviors: Substitutes or Complements?

John P. Hoffmann, Brigham Young University
Mikaela Dufur, Brigham Young University
Alice Lapray, Brigham Young University

Research indicates that family, religion, and school variables independently affect adolescent health behaviors. Yet research has not developed an analytic framework for exploring how these variables may interact to affect specific risk behaviors. We propose that certain family, religion, and school variables may serve as substitute or complementary forms of capital in equations designed to predict adolescent risk behaviors. Using data from the 1994-1995 wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Heath (AdHealth), we find that certain school conditions interact with family mechanisms to enhance or mitigate the risk of drug use, violent behaviors, and sexual behaviors. A preliminary set of multilevel models shows that high quality schools substitute for detrimental family relationships in decreasing the risk of violent behaviors. The final models explore these effects by focusing on other risk behaviors and by investigating the role of religious practices as potential substitutes or complements for family situations.