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RESEARCH ARTICLE |
1 Institute on Aging, and Departments of
2 Epidemiology and Biostatistics
3 Gerontology, University of South Florida, Tampa.
Address correspondence to Yuri Jang, PhD, the University of Georgia, Gerontology Center, 255 East Hancock Avenue, Athens, GA 30602. E-mail: yjang{at}geron.uga.edu.
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Abstract |
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Methods. The association between predictor variables (sociodemographic variables, health conditions, social resources, and religiosity) and feelings of mastery was assessed by using representative community-dwelling samples of 250 African American (
) and 452 White (
) older adults.
Results. African American older adults had a lower sense of mastery than White older adults. Significant modification by race was found in the associations of age, self-rated health, and religiosity with feelings of mastery. The negative effects of old age and poor health on feelings of mastery were stronger in the White sample, whereas the positive effect of religiosity on feelings of mastery was observed only in the African American sample.
Discussion. Although African American older adults had a lower sense of mastery than Whites, their feelings of mastery were less likely to be diminished by old age and poor health and more likely to be enhanced by religiosity. Possible explanations for cross-racial differences are discussed, as are implications.
The sense of mastery, a feeling of control over one's own life and environment, is widely known to be associated with physical and emotional well-being (Pearlin & Schooler, 1978
). The positive role of feelings of mastery has also been found in studies of older populations, and there is general consensus that a sense of mastery is an indicator of psychological resilience that can facilitate adaptation to the changes associated with aging, overcome potential negative consequences, and promote well-being of older adults (Jang, Haley, Small, & Mortimer, 2002; Roberts, Dunkle, & Haug, 1994; Schieman & Turner, 1998). Most of these studies have been conducted with White participants; however, the positive effects of a sense of mastery on well-being have been replicated in different ethnic and racial groups, including African Americans (Balaswamy & Richardson, 2001), Hispanics (Mui & Burnette, 1996), and Asians (Jang, Haley, Small, & Reynolds, 2000).
Despite the global significance of feelings of mastery, surprisingly little attention has been paid to racial differences in its determination. Because race and culture shape beliefs, attitudes, expectations, and behaviors of individuals as a group (Dilworth-Anderson & Burton, 1999), factors that may reinforce or diminish feelings of mastery may also vary across racial groups. In the present study, we examined similarities and differences in determinants of the sense of mastery between African American and White older adults.
It is generally known that old age, low socioeconomic status, and poor health are inversely associated with feelings of mastery (Pearlin & Schooler, 1978; Schieman & Turner, 1998). However, little research has been done to confirm whether these variables function in the same way among White and African American older adults. Given the more favorable perspectives on aging among African Americans and their resilience against adversity (Gibson, 1986; Johnson, 1995), the negative effects of old age, lack of resources, and health problems on feelings of mastery may be reduced for African Americans. In contrast, for Whites whose values are founded more on individualism and independence, the experiences of growing old and losing personal resources may be more burdensome and likely to erode their sense of mastery.
Other important factors include social resources and religiosity. Studies have consistently shown that African American older adults benefit from strong support systems (Dilworth-Anderson & Burton, 1999) and active religious involvement (Levin, Chatters, & Taylor, 1995; Musick, Koenig, Hays, & Cohen, 1998). Because African American culture places strong values on social and religious engagement, the positive effects of social resources and religiosity on psychological states, including feelings of mastery, may be more salient among African Americans.
On the basis of this review, we hypothesized that race would modify the associations between predictor variables (sociodemographic variables, health conditions, social resources, and religiosity) and a sense of mastery. Specifically, we proposed that the sense of mastery among African Americans would be less likely to be diminished by old age, low socioeconomic status, and health problems and more likely to be enhanced by social resources and religiosity compared with that among Whites.
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METHODS |
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TOPAbstractMethodsResultsDiscussionReferences |
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; Webb, 2001). Among the 424 and 808 persons with whom contact could be established for the HEALS and the CCHAS, 255 (60.1 %) and 466 (57.7%) persons agreed to participate in the interviews. Individuals whose race was identified as non-White in the CCHAS and those who had missing information for many variables in both data sets were excluded, leaving 250 persons in the African American sample and 452 persons in the White sample.
Measures
Sociodemographic variables
Demographic information included age (in years), gender (
; 
), race (
; 
), marital status (
; 
), income (
to 
), and educational attainment (in years).
Health conditions
Chronic conditions were measured with a checklist of 11 conditions and diseases. Self-rated health was assessed by using a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (excellent) to 5 (poor).
Sense of mastery
Sense of mastery was measured with Pearlin and Schooler's Mastery Scale (1978). Respondents described their feelings about seven items such as "My future mostly depends on me" on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Total scores range from 7 (low sense of mastery) to 28 (high sense of mastery). Cronbach's alpha for this scale was.67 for the African American sample and.78 for the White sample.
To examine measurement invariance of the scale across the racial groups, factor structures extracted from an explanatory factor analysis in each group were compared. Both samples yielded two factor components explaining a total of 54.7% and 60.5% of the variance. In order to quantify the overlap between the groups, congruence coefficients were calculated (Gorsuch, 1974). The present samples showed high congruence coefficients (0.95 for the first factor, 0.96 for the second factor), indicating that the scale measured the same construct in the two racial groups and that individuals were responding in a similar manner to the scale.
Social resources
Social resources included three subscales: social network, social support, and satisfaction with support. Social network was measured with six items from Lubben's Social Network Scale (1988), including the number of relatives or friends seen at least once a month, frequency of contact, and the number of relatives or friends the subject felt close to. Cronbach's alpha for the social network measure was high in both samples (.67 for the African American sample and.71 for the White sample).
Social support and satisfaction with support were measured with a composite measure from the work of Krause and Borawski-Clark (1995). The items in the scale represented various dimensions of social support, including instrumental, informational, and emotional support. For each support activity, respondents reported how often they received the support. In addition, respondents were asked to report how satisfied they were with each type of support they received by using a 4-point scale. Cronbach's alphas for social support and satisfaction with support were.86 and.61 for the African American sample, and for the White sample they were.87 and.68, respectively. Measurement comparability for the three subscales of social resources was established with congruence coefficients ranging from.98 to.99.
Religiosity
Items for religiosity included service attendance, religious comfort, importance of religious faith, and frequency of prayer or meditation. Cronbach's alpha for the scale based on these four items was shown to be satisfactory in both groups (.75 for the African American sample and.83 for the White sample). The scale was shown to be equivalent across the racial groups with a congruent coefficient of.99.
Analytic Strategy
Comparisons of the study variables between groups were conducted by using t test or chi-square test. With the use of the total sample, a regression model of a sense of mastery was estimated with predictors of sociodemographic variables, health conditions, social resources, and religiosity. The variance inflation factor (VIF) was assessed to detect the presence of multicollinearity. As a way to examine modification by race, interaction terms of race with other variables were added to the main effect model. When significant modification by race was found, regression coefficients for predictor variables on the dependent variable were assessed in each group.
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RESULTS |
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TOPAbstractMethodsResultsDiscussionReferences |
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.
|
, 
, and ), African American race (
, 
, and ), and lower levels of education (
, 
, and 
) being significant predictors of lower sense of mastery. Among health variables, social resources, and religiosity, significant effects were observed for self-rated health (
, 
, and ) and satisfaction with support (, 
, and ). Those who perceived their own health to be poorer and had less satisfaction with support were likely to have lower feelings of mastery. As a final step, interaction terms of race with other variables were entered. Among 11 possible interaction terms, significance was obtained for 
(
, 
, and 
), 
(
, , and ), and 
(
, 
, and ). The total explained variance by predictor variables and interaction terms was 33%. For the interpretation of the interaction effects, the total sample was divided by race, and regression coefficients for age, self-rated health, and religiosity on the dependent variable in each group were assessed. As shown in Table 2, the effect of age on feelings of mastery was stronger in the White sample than in the African American sample, as was the effect of self-rated health. The results indicate that advancing age and poorer health status have a larger effect in diminishing feelings of mastery in Whites than in African Americans. In contrast to the strongly positive association between religiosity and feelings of mastery among African American older adults, White older adults showed no association between these variables.
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DISCUSSION |
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TOPAbstractMethodsResultsDiscussionReferences |
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. The reliability of the scale was slightly higher among White older adults; however, measurement invariance across the racial groups was found. The mean-level comparison revealed lower feelings of mastery among African Americans, and the racial difference remained significant after the effects of age, income, and education were controlled for. An interesting modification by race emerged in the associations of age, self-rated health, and religiosity with the dependent variable. The negative effects of old age and poor health on a sense of mastery were stronger in the White sample. In contrast, a positive effect of religiosity was observed only in the African American sample.
The variations in the effects of age and health on feelings of mastery may be due to different values and beliefs in the two racial groups. For example, African Americans may be more positive in responding to the changes associated with aging, so their sense of mastery is less likely to be influenced by advancing age or developing health problems. In African American communities where the mortality rate is high, elders are considered as survivors with hardiness, and people tend to have more favorable perspectives on aging and the aged (Dilworth-Anderson & Burton, 1999; Johnson, 1995).
The reduced dependence of a sense of mastery on age and health observed in the present African American sample is consistent with research showing more positive adaptation among African Americans under stressful life conditions such as caregiving (Lawton, Rajagopal, Brody, & Kleban, 1992; Roth, Haley, Owen, Clay, & Goode, 2001), bereavement (Balaswamy & Richardson, 2001), and disablement (Penninx et al., 1998). When confronted with stressful situations, African Americans had more favorable appraisals, used active coping strategies, sought potential benefits from the experience, and maintained positive emotional states (Lawton et al., 1992; Roth et al., 2001). The findings from the present study and other research suggest that African American older adults may be hardier and more resilient in response to life stresses. In earlier research, Gibson (1986) suggested that African Americans may be better socialized to cope with uncertainty or adversity through their lifetime experiences. Greater resilience against negative conditions may be an important asset for African American older adults to deal with challenges in later life and protect well-being.
This study highlighted the unique contribution of religiosity to the sense of mastery among African Americans. Religious involvement in African American communities seems to play an essential role in empowering older adults and enhancing their feelings of mastery. African American older adults may benefit from a sense of vicarious control over their life and environment through religious alliance (Ellison & Levin, 1998). Mechanisms may include buffering the adverse effects of life stresses, strengthening cognitive coping abilities, providing opportunities for social connections, and promoting internal psychological well-being (Levin et al., 1995).
It is notable that the findings on religiosity and feelings of mastery or sense of control have not been always consistent. Some researchers have shown inverse associations between religiosity and sense of control, suggesting relinquishment of control to a powerful but benevolent other (Shaw & Krause, 2001). These contradictory findings may be due to the different measures and samples used in these studies and warrant careful interpretation. From a practical perspective, ways to reinforce positive roles of religious involvement and beliefs for better outcomes have to be considered.
Some limitations to the present study should be noted. Foremost is the nature of the sample utilized. Because this study used geographically defined samples with low response rates, the generalizability of the findings to all African Americans and Whites is limited. Future studies have to address the issue of race and a sense of mastery by using more representative samples with greater geographic and sociodemographic heterogeneity. A second limitation is related to the use of a cross-sectional design, which restricts the ability to infer causal directionality among study variables. Longitudinal study designs are needed to clarify causal relationships of the constructs and to examine dynamic changes and adaptational processes over time.
Despite the aforementioned limitations, this study has implications for research and practice. In contrast to the well-established research on racial disparity in physical health, attention has rarely been given to racial differences in psychological constructs. More research is needed to increase our knowledge of psychological attributes and their determinants in older adults with diverse ethnic backgrounds.
The racial variations found in the present study should be taken into account when one is designing and implementing programs for older adults. Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of control-enhancing interventions for older individuals to promote well-being (Reich & Zautra, 1990). To further promote the effectiveness of the programs, specific approaches should be taken to address unique characteristics of individuals with different racial backgrounds. In particular, for White older adults, strategies to alter negative perceptions or attitudes toward aging will be useful to assist a positive adaptation to the aging process and to preserve feelings of mastery. In addition, unique cultural characteristics, for instance, a strong emphasis on religiosity among African Americans, have to be recognized and utilized to better serve culturally diverse older populations and to address their needs.
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Acknowledgments |
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Footnotes |
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Received for publication September 5, 2002. Accepted for publication January 17, 2003.
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