Religious Involvement and Health over Time: Predictive Effects in a National Sample of African Americans

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
David L RothCheryl L Holt

Abstract

In this study, two telephone interviews that assessed both religious involvement and health-related quality of life were conducted approximately 2.5 years apart in a national sample of 290 African Americans. Religious involvement was assessed with an instrument that measured both personal religious beliefs (e.g., having a personal relationship with God) and more public religious behaviors (e.g., attending church services). Health-related quality of life was measured with version 2 of the Medical Outcomes Study 12-item short form (SF-12v2). Structural equation models indicated that higher religious beliefs at baseline predicted better physical and mental health 2.5 years later. Higher religious behaviors at baseline contributed smaller, complementary suppression effects. Physical and mental health indicators from the SF-12v2 at baseline did not predict changes in either religious beliefs or religious behaviors over time. These findings indicate that, for African Americans, personal religious beliefs lead to beneficial health effects over time, whereas individual differences in health do not appear to predict changes in religious involvement.

References

Nov 14, 1998·Health Education & Behavior : the Official Publication of the Society for Public Health Education·C G Ellison, J S Levin
Dec 13, 2006·Annual Review of Public Health·Marci Kramish CampbellMonica Baskin
Mar 19, 2011·Journal of Religion and Health·David L RothMatthew W Kreuter
Dec 8, 2011·Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion·Joonmo Son, John Wilson
Feb 22, 2012·American Journal of Epidemiology·Joanna MaselkoKeith Meador
Sep 4, 2012·Journal of Health and Social Behavior·David R Williams
Sep 17, 2014·Social Science & Medicine·Kenneth F Ferraro, Seoyoun Kim
Jan 1, 2014·The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion·Cheryl L HoltDavid L Roth

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Citations

Jun 22, 2018·American Journal of Men's Health·Sabrina L Dickey, Motolani E Ogunsanya
Jun 30, 2018·Journal of Holistic Nursing : Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association·Robin L PageTerrence D Hill
Jul 19, 2020·American Journal of Human Biology : the Official Journal of the Human Biology Council·Morgan K Hoke, Lawrence M Schell
Mar 26, 2020·Korean journal of family medicine·Mina KangYoung Sik Kim
Feb 11, 2021·Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities·Rahma S MkuuJanae Alexander

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