Delivered from the Temptation of Smoking: Examining Religion and Health Behaviors of U.S. Immigrants

• In Event: 251 - Section on Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco Paper Session. Social, Cultural and Contextual Dimensions of Substance Use

Abstract

Despite demographic factors that would predict otherwise, immigrants to the U.S. have better health outcomes than their native-born peers. While there are many theories that help to explain this pattern, including the healthy migrant theory, there is much left to explain. This paper asserts that the pattern of smoking, influenced by immigrants’ religion and religiosity, are key to understanding this phenomenon. Culture and acculturation affect health through how they shape health behaviors. A health behavior that studies agree negatively impacts health is smoking. Building of the foundation of work of Strawbridge and colleagues (1997), studies in religion and health indicate that those who are more religious in the United States smoke less. There are also studies that indicate that U.S. immigrants are more religious than their native-born counterparts. However, in the studies where acculturation and health are investigated simultaneously, the relationship between religion and religiosity of immigrants and smoking patterns are understudied. Studies indicate that religion serves both as a bridge and a barrier to American culture for the majority of immigrants. This study investigates the relationship between religion and health of new legal immigrants to the United States by analyzing the New Immigrant Survey. The findings suggest that there is a protective relationship between immigrant religion and smoking patterns, both in likelihood of having ever smoked and the likelihood of having quit smoking.

Author

• Kate Cartwright, Emory University