Exploring the Stress-Buffering Effects of Church-Based and Secular Social Support on Self-Rated Health in Late Life
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to see if emotional support received from fellow church members and emotional support from secular social networks reduce the effects of financial strain on self-rated health. A second goal is to determine if church-based social support is a more important coping resource for older Blacks than for older Whites. METHODS: The data come from the second wave of interviews with a nationwide sample of older people. Two groups of older adults are included in the analyses: Older Christians who go to church more than twice a year (N=548) and older people who do not go to church as frequently (N=238). RESULTS: The data suggest that support from fellow church members tends to reduce the impact of financial strain on self-rated health, but support from secular network members fails to exert a similar effect. The findings also reveal that the stress-buffering effects of church-based support emerge among older Blacks, but not older Whites. DISCUSSION: The findings from this study suggest that there may be something relatively unique about support that is provided by fellow church members.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Self-rated health is strongly related to objective health, that is, future health, health services use, and mortality.
“While based on participants' subjective impression, self-rated health is strongly related to objective health, that is, future health, health services use, and mortality [505–507].”
From Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications (2012) · cites this paper as [507]
Cites
Multiple regression: testing and interpreting interactions
(1992) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.29-3352 · Cited by 36,644 · see citing works
Handbook of Religion and Health
Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2004) · American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00019442-200405000-00015 · Cited by 3,262 · see citing works
The Psychology of Religion and Coping
Mcfadden, S., & Pargament, K. (1997) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1387534 · Cited by 1,597 · see citing works
The Religion-Health Connection: Evidence, Theory, and Future Directions
Ellison, C. G., & Levin, J. S. (1998) · Health Education & Behavior · doi:10.1177/109019819802500603 · Cited by 1,460 · see citing works
Stress, culture, and community: the psychology and philosophy of stress
(1999) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.36-6573 · Cited by 1,048 · see citing works
Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health
(2013) · Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4276-5 · Cited by 922 · see citing works
Religion in the Lives of African Americans: Social, Psychological, and Health Perspectives
Taylor, R., Chatters, L. M., & Levin, J. (2004) · Sage eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781452229782 · Cited by 603 · see citing works
Religious Involvement, Stress, and Mental Health: Findings from the 1995 Detroit Area Study
Ellison, C. G., Boardman, J. D., Williams, D. R., & Jackson, J. S. (2001) · Social Forces · doi:10.1353/sof.2001.0063 · Cited by 527 · see citing works
From Poor Law to Welfare State: A History of Social Welfare in America
Rothman, D. J., & Trattner, W. I. (1975) · The American Historical Review · doi:10.2307/1867592 · Cited by 515 · see citing works
Church-Based Social Support and Health in Old Age: Exploring Variations by Race
Krause, N. (2002) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences · doi:10.1093/geronb/57.6.s332 · Cited by 469 · see citing works
Self-citationGerotranscendence: The contemplative dimension of aging
Tornstam, L. (1997) · Journal of Aging Studies · doi:10.1016/s0890-4065(97)90018-9 · Cited by 360 · see citing works
Stress and Religious Involvement Among Older Blacks
Krause, N., & Van Tran, T. (1989) · Journal of Gerontology · doi:10.1093/geronj/44.1.s4 · Cited by 324 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The first is used widely in the literature and is sometimes referred to as ''organizational religiousness'' (Krause & Tran, 1989).”
Self-citationChurch‐Based Social Support and Religious Coping
KRAUSE, N. M., Ellison, C. G., Shaw, B. A., Marcum, J. P., & Boardman, J. D. (2001) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.1111/0021-8294.00082 · Cited by 320 · see citing works
Self-citationGottlieb, B. H. (1997) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-9862-3 · Cited by 275 · see citing works
Parker, S. R. (1982) · Cited by 259 · see citing works
Theory-based Data Analysis for the Social Sciences
Aneshensel, C. S. (2002) · Sage eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781412986342 · Cited by 213 · see citing works
Krause, N., & Wulff, K. M. (2005) · The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1207/s15327582ijpr1501_6 · Cited by 170 · see citing works
Self-citationFung, H. H.-L., & Carstensen, L. L. (2004) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/0882-7974.19.1.68 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Nelsen, H. M., & Nelsen, A. K. (1975) · UKnowledge (University of Kentucky) · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Growing up religious: Christians and Jews and their journeys of faith
(1999) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.37-1507 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Religious influences on health and well-being in the elderly
Schaie, K. W., KRAUSE, N. M., & Booth, A. (2004) · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Self-citationConceptual and Measurement Issues in the Study of Coping with Chronic Stress
Gottlieb, B. H. (1997) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-9862-3_1 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Baldwin, J. A., & Hopkins, R. H. (1990) · The Western journal of black studies · Cited by 105 · see citing works
The Uses and Misuses of Data and Models: The Mathematization of the Human Sciences
Bradley, W., & Schaefer, K. (1998) · Sage eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781483348872 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Stress, Social Support, and Negative Interaction in Later Life
KRAUSE, N. M., & Jay, G. (1991) · Research on Aging · doi:10.1177/0164027591133004 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Sources of Religious Insight
Kallen, H. M., & Royce, J. (1964) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1385217 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Smith, H. M. (1963) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-349-00406-5_2 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Zuckerman, P. (2005) · Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions · doi:10.1525/nr.2005.9.1.125 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Church-Based Social Support and Health in Old Age
KRAUSE, N. M. (2002) · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Self-citationLinley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (2003) · Psychologist · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications
Koenig, H. G. (2012) · ISRN Psychiatry · doi:10.5402/2012/278730 · Cited by 2,423 · see citing works
Frequency of Attendance at Religious Services and Mortality in a U.S. National Cohort
Gillum, R. F., King, D. E., Obisesan, T. O., & Koenig, H. G. (2008) · Annals of Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2007.10.015 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Church-Based Volunteering, Providing Informal Support at Church, and Self-Rated Health in Late Life
Krause, N. (2009) · Journal of Aging and Health · doi:10.1177/0898264308328638 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Self-citationReyes-Ortiz, C. A., Berges, I. M., Raji, M. A., Koenig, H. G., Kuo, Y.-F., & Markides, K. S. (2008) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/63.5.480 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Core religious beliefs and providing support to others in late life
Krause, N., & Bastida, E. (2009) · Mental Health, Religion & Culture · doi:10.1080/13674670802249753 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Self-citationClose Companions at Church, Health, and Health Care Use in Late Life
Krause, N. (2010) · Journal of Aging and Health · doi:10.1177/0898264309359537 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Self-citationArcury, T. A., Stafford, J. M., Bell, R. A., Golden, S. L., Snively, B. M., & Quandt, S. A. (2007) · The Journal of Rural Health · doi:10.1111/j.1748-0361.2007.00097.x · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Death Anxiety, Religious Doubt, and Depressive Symptoms across Race in Older Adults
Willis, K. D., Nelson, T., & Moreno, O. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16193645 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
- Authors
- Krause, N.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- Corresponding author
- Krause, N.
- ORCID
- Krause, N.
- Venue
- The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2006-01-01
- Volume
- 61
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- S35-S43
- ISSN
- 1079-5014 (ISSN-L)
- 1758-5368
- OpenAlex
- W2148102216
- Cited by
- 261
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 10.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journals of Gerontology Series B (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG014749)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- self-rated health, financial stress, stress buffering, older adults, racial differences, Black older adults, White older adults, religious coping, emotional support, church attendance
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Female, Health Status, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Religion and Medicine, Social Support, Stress, Psychological, Secularism, Black People, White People
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
