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Religious Participation is Associated with Increases in Religious Social Support in a National Longitudinal Study of African Americans

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Abstract

This study reports on the association between religious beliefs and behaviors and the change in both general and religious social support using two waves of data from a national sample of African Americans. The Religion and Health in African Americans (RHIAA) study is a longitudinal telephone survey designed to examine relationships between various aspects of religious involvement and psychosocial factors over time. RHIAA participants were 3173 African American men (1281) and women (1892). A total of 1251 men (456) and women (795) participated in wave 2 of data collection. Baseline religious behaviors were associated with increased overall religious social support from baseline to wave 2 (p < .001) and with increased religious social support from baseline to wave 2 in each of the following religious social support subscales: emotional support received (p < .001), emotional support provided (p < .001), negative interaction (p < .001), and anticipated support (p < .001). Religious beliefs did not predict change in any type of support, and neither beliefs nor behaviors predicted change in general social support. African Americans who are active in faith communities showed increases in all types of religious social support, even the negative aspects, over a relatively modest longitudinal study period. This illustrates the strength of the church as a social network and the role that it plays in people’s lives.

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Acknowledgments

The team would like to acknowledge the work of OpinionAmerica and Tina Madison who conducted participant recruitment/retention and data collection activities for the present study. This work was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute, (R01 CA 105202; R01 CA154419) and a grant from the Duke University Center for Spirituality, Theology, and Health, through the John Templeton Foundation (#11993). The study was approved by the University of Maryland Institutional Review Board (#373528-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Behavioral and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Daisy Le, Cheryl L. Holt & Dominic P. Hosack

  2. Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University, 2024 E. Monument St. Suite 2-700, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Jin Huang

  3. Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, Morrissey Hall, 3700 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63108, USA

    Eddie M. Clark

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  1. Daisy Le
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  2. Cheryl L. Holt
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Correspondence to Daisy Le.

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Le, D., Holt, C.L., Hosack, D.P. et al. Religious Participation is Associated with Increases in Religious Social Support in a National Longitudinal Study of African Americans. J Relig Health 55, 1449–1460 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0143-1

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