Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 52, Issue 6 S306-S316, Copyright © 1997 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

Religion among disabled and nondisabled persons II: attendance at religious services as a predictor of the course of disability

EL Idler and SV Kasl
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903, USA. [email protected]

Does religious involvement influence changes in physical health? We perform a longitudinal analysis of the effect of religious participation on functioning over a 12-year follow-up period, in a large, prospective, representative sample of elderly persons from New Haven, Connecticut, a religiously diverse community. To examine the possibility that disability or changes in disability may be affecting religious involvement, we perform a second longitudinal analysis of changes in religious practices. Finally, we ask whether psychosocial correlates explain the effect of religious involvement on disability. Findings are (a) that attendance at services is a strong predictor of better functioning, even when intermediate changes in functioning are included, (b) that health practices, social ties, and indicators of well-being reduce, but do not eliminate these effects, and (c) that disability has minimal effects on subsequent attendance. The findings illustrate the short- and long-term importance of religious participation to the health and well-being of elderly people, and suggest a particular significance for religious participation in the lives of disabled elders.

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