TY - JOUR
T1 - Positive and Negative Religious Beliefs Explaining the Religion–Health Connection Among African Americans
AU - Holt, Cheryl L.
AU - Clark, Eddie M.
AU - Roth, David L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (#1 R01 CA105202) and was approved by the University of Maryland Institutional Review Board (#08-0328).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2014/10/2
Y1 - 2014/10/2
N2 - Theory and literature suggests that the reason religiously involved people tend to have good health outcomes is because they have healthy lifestyles and behaviors in accord with religious beliefs. Other literature suggests that religious involvement may play a negative role in health outcomes due to beliefs about illness originating as punishment for sins. These ideas were tested as part of a theoretical model of the religion–health connection in a national sample of African Americans. Outcomes included a variety of health-related behaviors. Study participants (N = 2,370) randomly selected from a U.S. national call list completed a telephone survey assessing religious involvement, health behaviors, and demographic characteristics. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze study data. Findings indicate that perceived religious influence on health behavior mediated the relationship between religious beliefs and behaviors and higher fruit consumption and lower alcohol use and smoking. Belief that illness is the result of punishment for sin mediated the relationship between (a) religious beliefs and higher vegetable consumption and lower binge drinking and (b) religious behaviors and lower vegetable consumption and higher binge drinking. These findings could be applied to health education activities conducted in African American faith-based organizations, such as health ministries, in the effort to eliminate health disparities.
AB - Theory and literature suggests that the reason religiously involved people tend to have good health outcomes is because they have healthy lifestyles and behaviors in accord with religious beliefs. Other literature suggests that religious involvement may play a negative role in health outcomes due to beliefs about illness originating as punishment for sins. These ideas were tested as part of a theoretical model of the religion–health connection in a national sample of African Americans. Outcomes included a variety of health-related behaviors. Study participants (N = 2,370) randomly selected from a U.S. national call list completed a telephone survey assessing religious involvement, health behaviors, and demographic characteristics. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze study data. Findings indicate that perceived religious influence on health behavior mediated the relationship between religious beliefs and behaviors and higher fruit consumption and lower alcohol use and smoking. Belief that illness is the result of punishment for sin mediated the relationship between (a) religious beliefs and higher vegetable consumption and lower binge drinking and (b) religious behaviors and lower vegetable consumption and higher binge drinking. These findings could be applied to health education activities conducted in African American faith-based organizations, such as health ministries, in the effort to eliminate health disparities.
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U2 - 10.1080/10508619.2013.828993
DO - 10.1080/10508619.2013.828993
M3 - Article
C2 - 28546736
AN - SCOPUS:84914108059
SN - 1050-8619
VL - 24
SP - 311
EP - 331
JO - International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
JF - International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
IS - 4
ER -