Research indicates that social support that is provided by fellow church members is associated with better health. The goal of the current study is to contribute to this literature in three potentially important ways. First, the effects of received support are contrasted with a second measure of support–satisfaction with support received. Second, it is hypothesized that the effects of church-based support on self-rated health will depend upon the level of religious commitment. Third, these issues are examined with data from a nationwide survey of older Mexican Americans. The findings suggest that satisfaction with support, but not received support, is associated with better health. However, the results further reveal that these potentially important benefits are only evident among older Mexican Americans who are more committed to their faith.
AikenL. S.WestS. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interaction effects. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
2.
AllportG. W.RossJ. M. (1967). Personal religious orientation and prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 432–433.
3.
BarreraM. (1986). Distinctions between social support concepts, measures, and models. American Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 413–425.
4.
CarstensenL. L. (1992). Social and emotional patterns in adulthood: Support for socioemotional selectivity theory. Psychology and Aging, 7, 331–338.
5.
CoonH. M.KemmelmeierM. (2001). Cultural orientations in the United States: (Re)examining differences among ethnic groups. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 348–364.
6.
CrossS. E.BaconP. L.MorrisM. L. (2000). The relational-interdependent self-construal and relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 791–808.
7.
ElizondoV. (2010). Virgilio Elizando: Spiritual writings. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
8.
ElizondoV. (2000). Popular religion as support of identity. In MotivinaT. (Ed.), Beyond borders: Writings of Virgilio Elizondo and friends (pp. 126–132). Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
9.
EllisonC. G.LevinJ. S. (1998). The religion-health connection: Evidence, theory, and future directions. Health Education and Behavior, 25, 700–720.
10.
ExlineJ. J.RoseE. (2005). Religious and spiritual struggles. In PaloutzianR. F.ParkC. L. (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 315–330). New York, NY: Guilford.
11.
FanziniL.Fernandez-EsquerM. E. (2004). Socioeconomic, cultural, and personal influences on health outcomes in low income Mexican-origin individuals in Texas. Social Science and Medicine, 59, 1629–1646.
12.
FernandezE. C. (2007). Mexican American Catholics. New York, NY: Paulist Press.
13.
Fetzer Institute/National Institute on Aging Working Group. (1999). Multidimensional measurement of religiousness/spirituality for use in health research. Kalamazoo, MI: John E. Fetzer Institute.
14.
FioreJ.CoppelD. B.BeckerJ.CoxG. B. (1986). Social support as a multifaceted concept: Examination of important dimensions for adjustment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 93–106.
15.
GoizuetaR. S. (2002). The symbolic world of Mexican American religion. In MatovinaT.Riebe-EstrellaG. (Eds.), Horizons of the sacred: Mexican Traditions in U.S. Catholicism (pp. 119–138). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
16.
Holt-LundstadJ.SmithT. B.LaytonJ. B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PLoS Medicine, 7, 1–20.
17.
HoodR. W.HillP. C.SpilkaB. (2009). The psychology of religion: An empirical approach (4th ed.). New York, NY: Guilford.
18.
HouseJ. S.KahnR. L.McLeodJ. D.WilliamsD. R. (1985). Measures and concepts of social support. In CohenS.SymeL. (Eds.), Social support and health (pp. 83–108). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
19.
HummerR. A.BenjaminsM. R.RogersR. G. (2004). Racial and ethnic disparities in health and mortality among the U.S. elderly population. In AndersonN. B.BulataoR. A.CohenB. (Eds.), Critical perspectives on racial and ethnic differences in health in late life (pp. 53–94). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
20.
IdlerE. L.HudsonS. V.LeventhalH. (1999). The meanings of self-rated health: A qualitative and quantitative inquiry. Research on Aging, 21, 458–476.
21.
JangS. J.JohnsonB. R. (2004). Explaining religious effects on distress among African Americans. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 43, 239–260.
22.
KrauseN. (2006). Exploring the stress-buffering effects of church-based social support and secular social support on health in late life. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 61B, S35–S43.
23.
KrauseN. (2008). Aging in the church: How social relationships affect health. West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Foundation Press.
24.
KrauseN. (2009). Church-based volunteering, providing informal support at church, and self-rated health in late life. Journal of Aging and Health, 21, 63–84.
25.
KrauseN. (2010). Religious involvement, humility, and self-rated health. Social Indicators Research, 98, 23–39.
26.
KrauseN.BastidaE. (2011). Social relationships in the church during late life: Assessing differences between older African Americans, whites, and Mexican Americans. Review of Religious Research, 53, 41–63.
27.
KrauseN.LiangJ.YatomiN. (1989). Satisfaction with social support and depressive symptoms: A longitudinal analysis. Psychology and Aging, 4, 88–97.
28.
LundbergC. D. (2010). Unifying truths of the world’s religions. New Fairfield, CT: Heavenlight Press.
29.
ManselH. L. (1859). The limits of religous though examined in eight lectures. Oxford, UK: John Murray.
30.
MarkidesK. S. (2003). Hispanic established populations for the epidemiologic studies of the elderly 1993-1994. Study Number 2851. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research.
31.
MochonD.NortonM. I.ArielyD. (2011). Who benefits from religion?Social Indicators Research, 101, 1–15.
32.
ParkC. L.MoehlB.FensterJ. R.SureshD. P.BlissD. (2008). Religiousness and treatment adherence in congestive heart failure patients. Journal of Religion, Spiriuality, and Aging, 20, 249–266.
33.
RobertsR. C. (2007). Spiritual emotions: A psychology of Christian virtues. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans.
34.
RodriguezJ. (1994). Our Lady of Guadalupe: Faith and empowerment among Mexican American women. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
35.
StackS. (1983). The effects of religious commitment on suicide: A cross-national analysis. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 362–374.
36.
TaylorR. J.ChattersL. M.LevinJ. (2004). Religion in the lives of African Americans: Social, psychological, and health perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
37.
TornstamL. (2005). Gerotranscendence: A developmental theory of positive aging. New York, NY: Springer.
38.
YsseldykR.MathesonK.AnismanH. (2010). Religiosity as identity: Toward an understanding of religion from a social identity perspective. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14, 60–71.
