Does religiousness explain regional differences in alcohol use in Finland?
Winter T; Karvonen S; Rose RJ. Alcohol and Alcoholism 37(4): 330-339, 2002. (60 refs.) Aims: Because religiousness, a protective factor for alcohol use, is much more prevalent in rural regions, we examined its importance in explaining the differences in adolescent alcohol use found in the rural and the urban regions. In rural Ostrobothnia (hereafter referred to as the rural region), alcohol use is at the lowest level in all of Finland, whereas in Uusimaa, the urban region that surrounds Helsinki (hereafter referred to as the urban region), alcohol use is at the highest level. Methods: We analysed cross- sectional questionnaire data collected from Finnish adolescents and their mothers, during 1991-1995. Results: Abstinence was more prevalent, drinking less frequent, and religiousness higher in the rural region. In the urban region, there was but a negligible correlation between alcohol use and religiousness, whereas in the rural region, the correlation was clear, especially when abstain
