Exploring Ecological Assets and Personal Strengths among Salvadoran Youth: The Complex Relation between Religion and Hope

• In Event: 2-034 - Religiosity as a Multifaceted Resource for Positive Youth Development among Diverse Youth

Integrative Statement

Most Salvadoran youth live in chronic economic inequality and under the threat of violence due to gang-related activities. Despite living in contexts burdened by violence and poverty, many youth not only survive, but rather they thrive. Despite adversity, youth excel in various psychosocial domains including those relevant to spirituality which is important given the high levels of religious engagement in El Salvador and its viability as an alternative to gang involvement. The ideological and social resources afforded by religion are associated with hope, a character strength that is recognized as an important element of thriving. Consistent with the high value of religion, spirituality, and social relationships in Salvadoran culture, research suggests that sustained religious faith, and the association between religion and hope, may serve as fundamental assets contributing to positive youth development (PYD). Accordingly, this study explores how religious engagement and personal spirituality may be associated with hope as an indicator of PYD within the context of chronic adversity.
We explored relations among religion, spirituality, social relationships, and hope within a sample of Salvadoran youth. Data were derived from the first wave of the Compassion International (CI) Study of PYD (Tirrell et al., 2018)—an evaluation of CI’s faith-based child-sponsorship programs. Participants were 888 Salvadoran youth aged 9 to 15 years (50% female; M¬¬ age = 11.6, SD = 1.7), half of whom were involved in CI-supported church-based programs (n = 443). Participants completed a survey with measures of religiosity (i.e., involvement in religious events), spirituality (the Measure of Diverse Adolescent Spirituality, which indexes transcendence and fidelity), Social Connection (drawn from the Five Cs of PYD), and Hopeful Future Expectations (HFE). CI-enrollment status, gender, and age were included as covariates.
Structural equation models (SEM) tested possible direct and indirect pathways from religiosity to HFE. Results suggested that Salvadoran youth reporting higher levels of religiosity tended to show higher levels of HFE through spirituality and connection with others. In addition, boys and CI-supported youth showed higher levels of religiosity (see Figure 1). Although these findings are derived from cross-sectional data and do not imply causation, they suggest the complex resources constituted by religiosity, pointing to the possibility that religiosity may influence positive attributes, including hope, through the social networks of interpersonal relationships, and the personal experience of transcendence, available to religiously engaged youth committed to their faith. At the time of this writing, longitudinal data are being collected in El Salvador that will enhance our present data set and enable us to further elucidate the contributions of religious community and spirituality to the development of hope.

Authors

• Jennifer Medina Vaughn, Fuller Graduate School of Psychology
  Presenting Author

• Yeonsoo Yoo, Fuller Theological Seminary
  Non-Presenting Author

• Pamela Ebstyne King, Fuller Theological Seminary
  Non-Presenting Author

• Johnathan Tirrell, Tufts University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elizabeth Dowling, Tufts University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Richard M. Lerner, Tufts University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jacqueline V Lerner, Boston College
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kate Williams, Compassion International
  Non-Presenting Author

• Guillermo Iraheta, Compassion International
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alistair Sim, Compassion International
  Non-Presenting Author