RESEARCH_FILE
Justin J. Hendricks
The Pennsylvania State University
Known for:Longitudinal research demonstrating that religious deconversion — but not switching or conversion — predicts deteriorating parent-child relationship quality, operating through reduced parental warmth
Key findings
- 2024
Using three waves of National Study of Youth and Religion data (N = 2,352), deconversion significantly predicted poorer father-child relationship quality at the subsequent wave, and poorer mother-child relationship quality two waves later; effects were mediated by reduced parental warmth and lower religious belief similarity. Does Leaving Faith Mean Leaving Family? Longitudinal Associations Between Religious Identification and Parent-Child Relationships Across Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood ↗
- 2025
In a qualitative study of 32 happily married interfaith couples, family of origin — parents and in-laws — was identified as one of five key sources of influence shaping how couples navigate religious differences in marriage and parenting, with children's religious upbringing as the domain of greatest extended-family pressure. Sources of Influence in Marriage and Parenting for Interfaith Couples ↗