Religiously Involved Research Articles

It's Not Healthy Fellowship: Negative Interactions and the Implications for Middle- and Old-Age Black Men

Despite the benefits of social support on the well-being of Black men across the life course, scholars are more closely examining the potentially negative outcomes associated with some social networks. As one social support system, the Black church frequently serves middle and old age Black men who identify as religiously involved. Yet, higher levels of religious involvement have also been associated with more church-related negative interactions. The present study utilizes a grounded theory approach to examine the negative interactions of religious middle and old age Black men. A semi-structured interview protocol is used to gather data from 35 Black men between the ages of 45 and 76. Analyses reveal that church-related negative interactions broadly fall within the following themes: (1) Ageism Within Intergenerational Churches, (2) People are Messy, and (3) Issues with Leadership. Since negative interactions can be more detrimental than social support is beneficial, health-related implications are discussed.

Identity, Integrity, and Religious Doubt in Later Life

Drawing as a qualitative method has been employed to elicit views on aging. The subject matter of the drawings, without an explanation from participants, can be misinterpreted. Therefore, in this research, we explored college students’ drawings of the life course and the extent to which the content of these drawings corresponded to their written descriptions. A content analysis was performed on 524 college students’ life course drawings and their descriptions. Participants drew, on average, five life stages. The majority (75%) of the human beings represented were alone in each life stage. Twelve percent of the drawings were non-human representations of the life course (e.g., flower, tree). The majority of the images (85%) included in the drawings were not mentioned in the written descriptions, for example, hair changes (e.g., from long and straight to curly and short for women). Some physical characteristics (e.g., wrinkles [29%], hunched back [22%]) and some contexts (e.g., tombstones [37%], nursing home [100%]) were present in both the drawing and descriptions. Findings highlight which ideas associated with aging participants thought needed an explanation and which they might have seen as intrinsic to aging, warranting no explanation, emphasizing the importance of examining both drawn and written content when using drawing as a method in aging research. A more thorough and precise examination of the beliefs and perceptions of college students, who will serve as future professionals working with older adults, allows for the development of educational and engagement strategies that accurately target commonly held misperceptions regarding aging.

Violence, Adolescence, and Canadian Religious Communities: A Quantitative Study.

Exposure to violence is recognized as a major health concern among adolescent populations. The evidence base that links religious involvement with risks for child violence is inconsistent. In a national analysis involving a weighted sample of 24,307 young people, we studied the perpetration of violence (fighting and bullying), as well as victimization by violence (bullying only), among young people who were affiliated with religious groups. One in four young Canadians reported involvement in such groups. Study findings confirmed some unique patterns among this group. First, these religiously involved children reported the same or greater levels of perpetration of violence than other children. Second, religiously involved children reported the same or greater levels of experiencing victimization from violence. Third, religious involvement appeared to protect against engagement in certain overt risk-taking behaviors, but not violence. These patterns were consistent even after adjustment for family, community, socioeconomic, and school-related determinants. If religious communities are to fulfill mandates that foster the protection and nurturing of children into healthy relationships, violence is best addressed using evidence-based strategies. Development of such effective preventive strategies requires the incorporation of contemporary evidence about the distribution, determinants, and possible effects of violence in such groups. Findings from our study suggest that a silence around the issue of violence may in fact be true in the context of some Canadian religious communities. Yet, if these communities make an intentional commitment to protecting children from violence and promoting healthy relationships, and are willing to learn from evidence-based practices that have shown to protect children from participating in and experiencing violent and victim behaviors, perhaps these disturbing trends could be reversed. This message is germane for all levels of leadership in Canadian religious communities.

“And Who Is My Brother?” The Scope of Religious Communitarianism in Europe

Analyzing 40 countries in the 2008–2009 European Values Study (EVS), we test hypotheses that three religion dimensions—religious orthodoxy (believing), involvement in religious services and organizations (behaving), and affiliation with religious traditions (belonging)—are associated with economic communitarianism as opposed to individualism and with extending economic concern universalistically to all social categories. The EVS assesses respondents’ concern for the living conditions of social categories ranging from their immediate family to all humankind, as well as for vulnerable social categories—the elderly, the sick and disabled, poor children, the unemployed, and immigrants. While we find that Protestants are in some respects limited and exclusive in extending economic communitarianism, two of the most important factors in concern for the well-being of others and in universalistically extending this are religious orthodoxy and involvement in religion. Moreover, the orthodox and the religiously involved are more likely to express concern for the well-being of immigrants. We conclude that people of faith are far less exclusive and particularistic than less religious people in their economic concern for others, suggesting they could support welfare state efforts within their countries, bailouts to help weaker economies in Europe, and foreign aid to improve the conditions of those living in poorer countries.

The Role of Religious Involvement in Black-White Differences in Alcohol Use Disorders.

To date, a paradox in the social epidemiology of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) remains unresolved: non-Hispanic Blacks experience higher socioeconomic disadvantage, stressor exposures, and individual stress-prominent AUD risk factors, yet have lower than expected AUD risk compared with non-Hispanic Whites. Religious involvement is associated with lower AUD risk. Non-Hispanic Blacks are highly religiously involved. Together, those facts may account for Black-White differences in AUD risk. We used Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) (N = 26,784) to examine whether (a) religious involvement accounts for Black-White differences in AUD risk, and (b) race moderates the association between religious involvement and AUD. Religious involvement indicators were service attendance, social interaction, and subjective religiosity and spirituality. Twelve-month AUD prevalence as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, was the outcome. Covariates were age, education, income, marital status, and U.S.-born versus foreign-born nativity. Blacks were significantly less likely than Whites to have an AUD (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] for men = 0.70, 95% CI [0.59, 0.83]; aOR for women = 0.71, 95% CI [0.57, 0.89]). An adjusted model with all three religious involvement indicators explained 17% of race differences among men (OR = 0.82) and 45% among women (OR = 1.03). There was no evidence that the association between religious involvement and AUD differed between Blacks and Whites. Religious service attendance, subjective religiosity, and spirituality account for a meaningful share of the Black-White differences in AUD. Future research is needed to conduct more fine-grained analyses of the aspects of religious involvement that are potentially protective against AUD, ideally differentiating between social norms associated with religious involvement, social support offered by religious participation, and deeply personal aspects of spirituality.

Religious involvement and health in dialysis patients in Saudi Arabia.

Patients on hemodialysis experience considerable psychological and physical stress due to the changes brought on by chronic kidney disease. Religion is often turned to in order to cope with illness and may buffer some of these stresses associated with illness. We describe here the religious activities of dialysis patients in Saudi Arabia and determined demographic, psychosocial, and physical health correlates. We administered an in-person questionnaire to 310 dialysis patients (99.4 % Muslim) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that included the Muslim Religiosity Scale, Structured Clinical Interview for Depression, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Global Assessment of Functioning scale, and other established measures of psychosocial and physical health. Bivariate and multivariate analyses identified characteristics of patients who were more religiously involved. Religious practices and intrinsic religious beliefs were widespread. Religious involvement was more common among those who were older, better educated, had higher incomes, and were married. Overall psychological functioning was better and social support higher among those who were more religious. The religious also had better physical functioning, better cognitive functioning, and were less likely to smoke, despite having more severe overall illness and being on dialysis for longer than less religious patients. Religious involvement is correlated with better overall psychological functioning, greater social support, better physical and cognitive functioning, better health behavior, and longer duration of dialysis. Whether religion leads to or is a result of better mental and physical health will need to be determined by future longitudinal studies and clinical trials.

Positive and Negative Religious Beliefs Explaining the Religion–Health Connection Among African Americans

Theory and literature suggests that the reason religiously involved people tend to have good health outcomes is because they have healthy lifestyles and behaviors in accord with religious beliefs. Other literature suggests that religious involvement may play a negative role in health outcomes due to beliefs about illness originating as punishment for sins. These ideas were tested as part of a theoretical model of the religion–health connection in a national sample of African Americans. Outcomes included a variety of health-related behaviors. Study participants (N = 2,370) randomly selected from a U.S. national call list completed a telephone survey assessing religious involvement, health behaviors, and demographic characteristics. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze study data. Findings indicate that perceived religious influence on health behavior mediated the relationship between religious beliefs and behaviors and higher fruit consumption and lower alcohol use and smoking. Belief that illness is the result of punishment for sin mediated the relationship between (a) religious beliefs and higher vegetable consumption and lower binge drinking and (b) religious behaviors and lower vegetable consumption and higher binge drinking. These findings could be applied to health education activities conducted in African American faith-based organizations, such as health ministries, in the effort to eliminate health disparities.

Religious practices, beliefs, and mental health: variations across ethnicity

Objectives. We examined whether Black Americans and Hispanic Americans experienced greater mental health benefits from religious involvement than White Americans, and whether these benefits would be mediated through three psychosocial factors – social support, meaning, and forgiveness. Methods. Utilizing data from a probability sample of Chicago-based adults (n=3103), ethnicity-stratified multivariate regression models estimated the association of religiosity with depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and major depressive disorder (MDD). Models controlled for potential confounders and psychosocial mediators. Results. Contrary to our hypotheses, religiously involved Black Americans and Hispanic Americans did not experience greater mental health benefits than their White counterparts. For White Americans alone, service attendance was inversely related to depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and MDD. Religious saliency was consistently associated with worse mental health for Hispanic Americans only. However, both meaning and forgiveness conferred mental health benefits for all three groups. Conclusions. The benefits of specific aspects of religious involvement vary across ethnicity. Caution is necessary in any effort to bring religion into the health domain. Our findings, if replicated, suggest that initiatives that facilitate a sense of purpose or forgiveness are likely to prove promising in improving mental health, regardless of race or ethnicity.

P2-548 Geriatric mental health and religion: results from the Krakow Study on the relationship between religious involvement and health in older age

BackgroundTaking into account the prevalence of religiosity in the population of Polish older people inclusion of religiosity measures in mental health research is needed. The aim of the study was...

Changes in volunteering among young old in the Netherlands between 1992 and 2002: the impact of religion, age-norms, and intergenerational transmission

The positive trend in volunteering among the Dutch young old may in part be due to a relatively favorable disposition to volunteer. Using data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, volunteering rates of 55–64 year olds in 1992 and 2002 were compared and associated with (among others) three types of dispositional factors: religious involvement, age-related engagement norms, and parental socialization. The recent cohort was less religiously involved, but more supportive of social engagement at older age, and more often had parents who volunteered, were religiously involved or higher educated. Multivariate analyses revealed that cohort differences were largely explained by cohort differences in educational level and religious involvement. It is concluded that their lower religious level suppresses the volunteering rate of the current young old. To compensate for the decline in religious young old, family and the broader society will become more important for stimulating volunteer work in the future.

Religion and the Quality of Life in the Last Year of Life

Religious involvement in old age appears to remain quite stable until the very end of life, reflecting patterns established earlier in life. Are there differences in quality of life (QOL) for those who are religiously involved in that last year compared with those who are not? We studied 499 elderly persons participating in ongoing annual interviews who died in the 12 months following an interview. We examined public and subjective religious involvement and indicators of health-related and psychosocial QOL, including health status and functional ability, family and friendship networks, depression, and well-being. More deeply religious respondents were more likely to see friends, and they had better self-rated health, fewer depressive feelings, and were observed by the interviewer to find life more exciting compared with the less religious. Respondents receiving strength and comfort from religion reported poorer self-rated health. Those who attended religious services often were most likely to have attended holiday parties, even after adjusting for health status. Significant interactions indicated that the disabled benefited more from both public and subjective religious involvement than the nondisabled. Overall, QOL in the last year of life is positively related to religious involvement, particularly its more subjective dimensions.

Religion and Depression in Older Medical Inpatients

The objective of this study is to examine the religious characteristics of older medical inpatients with major and minor depression, compare them with religious characteristics of nondepressed patients, and examine their relationship to severity and type of depression. Medical inpatients over age 50 at Duke University Medical Center (DUMC) and three community hospitals were identified with depressive disorder using a structured psychiatric interview. Detailed information was obtained on their psychiatric, medical, and religious characteristics. Religious characteristics of these patients were then compared with those of nondepressed patients in a concurrent study at DUMC controlling for demographic, health, and social factors. Among depressed patients, relationships to severity and type of depression were also examined. Religious involvement among 411 patients with major and 585 with minor depression was widespread, although not as frequent as in 428 nondepressed patients. After controlling for demographic and physical health factors, depressed patients were more likely to indicate no religious affiliation, less likely to affiliate with neofundamentalist denominations, more likely to indicate "spiritual but not religious," less likely to pray or read scripture, and scored lower on intrinsic religiosity. Among depressed patients, there was no relationship between religion and depression type, but depression severity was associated with a lower religious attendance, prayer, scripture reading, and lower intrinsic religiosity. Social factors only partially explained these relationships. Older medically ill hospitalized patients with depression are less religiously involved than nondepressed patients or those with less severe depression. Implications for clinicians are discussed.

Spirituality and Religious Practices Among Outpatients With Schizophrenia and Their Clinicians

Religious issues may be neglected by clinicians who are treating psychotic patients, even when religion constitutes an important means of coping. This study examined the spirituality and religious practices of outpatients with schizophrenia compared with their clinicians. Clinicians' knowledge of patients' religious involvement and spirituality was investigated. The study sample included 100 patients of public psychiatric outpatient facilities in Geneva, Switzerland, with a diagnosis of nonaffective psychosis. Audiotaped interviews were conducted with use of a semistructured interview about spirituality and religious coping. The patients' clinicians (N=34) were asked about their own beliefs and religious activities as well as their patients' religious and clinical characteristics. Sixteen patients (16 percent) had positive psychotic symptoms reflecting aspects of their religious beliefs. A majority of the patients reported that religion was an important aspect of their lives, but only 36 percent of them had raised this issue with their clinicians. Fewer clinicians were religiously involved, and, in half the cases, their perceptions of patients' religious involvement were inaccurate. A few patients considered religious practice to be incompatible with treatment, and clinicians were seldom aware of such a conflict. Religion is an important issue for patients with schizophrenia, and it is often not related to the content of their delusions. Clinicians were commonly not aware of their patients' religious involvement, even if they reported feeling comfortable with such an issue.

Race, Region, and Religious Involvement: A Comparative Study of Whites and African Americans

This research examines (1) whether a comparative study of African Americans and whites in a nationwide sample bears out the widespread assumption of a distinctive African American religiosity (when region and other factors are controlled), and (2) whether any race differences provide support for the interpretation of African American religious involvements. Using data from the 1974­94 General Social Surveys, we examine how a variety of indicators of religious involvement vary by race and region. We find two basic types of evidence qualifying the assertion of a generalized heightened religiosity among African Americans. First, in analyzing three major subregions of the U.S., we find that African Americans, compared with whites, are no more religiously involved in the rural South, exhibit consistently higher religious involvement in the urban South, and show lower levels of religious involvement in the urban North. Second, in analyzing various types of church attendance (i.e., weekly, intermittent, and infrequent), we find that African American church attendance is distinctive mainly at an intermittent (e.g., monthly) rather than weekly level. These findings suggest that the rural South produces distinctive patterns of church attendance across racial lines, perhaps reflecting the legacy of segregation and the central importance of the church in rural community life. The markedly different urban patterns by region point to some important areas for further research into the semi-involuntary thesis.

Religious involvement and adolescent psychosocial development

The purpose of this study was to determine if religious involvement was associated with psychosocial maturity of adolescents as understood in Erikson's psychosocial theory. Three forms of religious involvement (attendance at religious services, participation in a Bible study group, and youth group involvement) were examined in relation to ego strengths, ideological and ethnic forms of identity, general self-esteem, and school self-esteem. Questionnaires were completed by 62 African-American and 63 European-American students in the 11th grade. All participants were from rural areas in West Virginia and of lower income status. Ego strengths of hope, will, purpose, fidelity, love, and care were associated with various forms of religious involvement. These associations were most apparent for European-Americans. Although ideological identity was not related to religious involvement, higher ethnic identity was associated with being African-American, especially for those more religiously involved. General self-esteem was not significant in the analyses, but school self-esteem was higher for each form of religious involvement.