This study utilized data from over 9,300 youth from 11 national or within-nation ethnic groups to evaluate the relationship between youth religiosity and youth social outcomes (social initiative, antisocial behavior) and psychological outcomes (self-esteem and depression) considering the roles of religious tradition, national-ethnic group, and gender. We created national-ethnic group by religious tradition (NEG × RT) combinations, partitioned religiosity into between-group and within-group components, and performed a series of mixed model regressions for each outcome. The levels of all four outcomes of interest differed significantly across NEG × RT groups, and these differences were attributable to national-ethnic group rather than religious tradition. Youth reports of antisocial behavior and self-esteem were predicted by between-group religiosity. Additionally, within-group religiosity predicted all four outcomes, indicating that the protective role of religiosity functions in a comparative, or relative, manner with youth who are more religious than others in their group reaping the most benefits. 1. Introduction Although religious practices differ by culture, political boundary, local community, and individual, some form of religion is influential, even central, in the lives of many people across the globe [1, 2]. Religion is an important context for development because it provides a means of socialization in areas such as moral behavior and offers emotional support to individuals from the cradle to the grave [2, 3]. Given cognitive advances during adolescence including increased abilities to think abstractly and understand symbolism [4], it is important to study the impact of religion during this stage. Over 80% of American teens ages 13–17 have expressed the importance of faith in their daily lives and decision making processes, and approximately 90% have been reported to have some kind of belief in God or a “cosmic life force” [5, page 41]. Religion also plays an important role for youth elsewhere in the world. For example, Lippman and Keith [6] reported that 82% of 20,000 teens and young adults from 41 countries indicated a belief in God. Additionally, there is much support for the protective role of religion in relation to various aspects of youth well-being including both social (cf. [7]) and psychological (cf. [8]) outcomes. Despite the consistency of these findings, less is known about the role of broader contextual features within which youth religiosity is situated. Cultural-religious factors such as religious affiliation and nationality
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