Abstract

We argue in this study that civic engagement in the form of worship and volunteering will have positive influences on the home situation, and the parent's and child's behaviour, and the child's behaviour as a "teen" eight years later. Detailed evidence relating to this argument is presented for all children aged 4 to 9 in 1995 (and the same children aged 12 to 17 in 2003), girls, boys, and children in families in which the parents are married in 1995. Tables provide profiles for children in homes in which the parent worshipped weekly and volunteered, worshipped less often and volunteered, and did not volunteer. Most of the evidence reviewed supports the argument. An analysis of teen smoking reveals parental worship frequency eight years earlier and other factors to be important, but not volunteering. Use of the study for teens, parents and educators, and proposed future analysis of teen high-risk behaviours, are noted in the conclusion.