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Cited by 486Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologyAging, Health, and DisabilityReligion and Society Interactions

Religious Involvement and the Health of the Elderly: Some Hypotheses and an Initial Test

Idler, Ellen L.·1987·Social Forces
DOI 10.2307/2578909
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Abstract

The study examines patterns of religious involvement, health status, functional disability, and depression among noninstitutionalized elderly residents of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1982. Controlling for demographic variables and physical health status, cross-sectional analysis of data from the Yale Health and Aging Project (N = 2811) shows higher levels of public religious involvement associated with lower levels of functional disability and depressive symptomatology; among men the analysis also shows that private religious involvement modifies the associations of health status with disability, and disability with depression. Four alterntive explanatory hypotheses with roots in classical sociological theories of religion are proposed and tested, three arguments for indirect effects of religious involvement through health behaviors, social cohesiveness, and cognitive coherence, and one for an interactive theodicy effect.

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  • Of the 20 methodologically most rigorous studies, 12 (60%) found an association between R/S and lower risk or better outcomes.

    “Of the 20 methodologically most rigorous studies, 12 (60%) found an association between R/S and lower risk or better outcomes [469–480], and none reported worse risk or outcomes.”

    From Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications (2012) · cites this paper as [474]

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Authors
Idler, E. L.
Affiliations
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
Corresponding author
Idler, Ellen L.
ORCID
Idler, Ellen L.
Venue
Social Forces
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
1987-09
Volume
66
Issue
1
Pages
226
ISSN
0037-7732 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2307/2578909
OpenAlex
W2042594626
Cited by
486
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 50 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 14
FWCI
5.44
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Social Forces (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Aging, Health, and Disability
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Religion and Society Interactions
Keywords
religious involvement, elderly health, functional disability, depression, social networks, social support, social cohesion, cognitive coherence, theodicy, health behavior

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