Religious Attendance and the Mobility Trajectories of Older Mexican Americans

Abstract

Does religious involvement favor physical functioning? At this point, there is no consistent empirical evidence concerning the true nature of the association (Benjamins 2004;Fitchett et al. 2013;Powell, Shahabi, and Thoresen 2003). According to a recent study by Fitchett and colleagues (2013:235), "considerable uncertainty remains about the exact influence of religious beliefs and practices on health outcomes in older adults, such as disability, which is a critical marker of overall physical health in late life." Several studies show that higher levels of religious involvement are associated with lower rates of impairment in activities of daily living (ADLs) (Berges et al. 2007(Berges et al. , 2010Fitchett et al. 2013;Haley, Koenig, and Bruchett 2001;Hayward and Krause 2013;Hybels et al. 2012Hybels et al. , 2014Idler 1987; Kasl 1992, 1997b;Krause and Hayward 2012; Park et al. 2008), instrumental ADLs (IADLs) (Hybels et al. 2012(Hybels et al. , 2014 Park et al. 2008), and physical mobility (Benjamins 2004;Berges et al. 2007;Fitchett et al. 2013;Hybels et al. 2012Hybels et al. , 2014. There 627850H SBXXX10.1177/0022146515627850Journal of Health and Social BehaviorHill et al. AbstractAlthough several studies have examined the association between religious involvement and physical functioning, there is no consistent empirical evidence concerning the true nature of the association. The Hispanic population is also surprisingly understudied in previous work. In this article, we employ seven waves of data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly to examine the association between religious attendance and performance-based mobility trajectories among older Mexican Americans. Growth mixture estimates reveal three latent classes of mobility trajectories: (1) high, (2) moderate, and (3) low. Multinomial logistic regression estimates show that the odds of being classified as having low mobility (versus high and moderate mobility) are lower for respondents who attend religious services than for respondents who never attend. Religious attendance does not distinguish between moderate and high mobility. Our regression results confirm that religious attendance is associated with favorable mobility trajectories among older Mexican Americans. is also considerable evidence to indicate no association (Berges et al. 2007;Fitchett et al. 2013;Hybels et al. 2012;Idler 1987; Kasl 1992, 1997a Because most studies of religious involvement and physical functioning are based on data collected from probability samples of predominantly non-Hispanic white and black respondents, previous work has been able to generalize only to specific populations. However, the lack of replication across diverse samples has limited the potential to generalize across populations. In other words, it is unclear whether the patterns reported in predominantly non-Hispanic white and black populations might extend to other populations. Krause and Bastida (2011:207) explain that "the lack of attention to the relationshi...

Perceived Social Support Trajectories and the All-Cause Mortality Risk of Older Mexican American Women and Men

“…Although research suggests that social integration, social engagement, and social support are associated with better mental health, physical health, and health-related behavior in various Hispanic groups (Brown et al, 2009; Finch & Vega, 2003; Gallo et al, 2015; Garcia et al, 2013; Hernandez et al, 2005; Hill et al, 2006, In press; Russell & Taylor, 2009; Vega & Kolody, 1985), we could find only one study focusing on social support and mortality risk in the Mexican American population. In their analysis of data from the Corpus Christi Heart Project, Farmer and colleagues (1996) show that Mexican Americans recovering from heart attacks with low levels of social support (based on an index of marital status, living arrangements, and informational support) exhibit a 238% increase in the risk of mortality as compared to their counterparts with moderate and high levels of social support.…”

Relação entre a espiritualidade/religiosidade e a funcionalidade de idosos: uma revisão sistemática.

“…As principais características dos estudos estão incluídas na Tabela 1. Em relação ao tipo de estudo, todos são caracterizados como observacionais, sendo 6 estudos de coorte (Berges, Kuo, Markides, & Ottenbacher, 2007;Hybels, et al, 2012;Cohen-Mansfield, Shmotkin, & Hazan, 2016;Hill, et al, 2016); e 1 estudo transversal (Coleman, et al, 2011).…”

“…O período dos estudos variou de 2007 (Berges, Kuo, Markides, & Ottenbacher, 2007); a 2016 (Cohen-Mansfield, Shmotkin, & Hazan, 2016;Hill, et al, 2016), sendo que foram incluídos estudos publicados nos últimos 10 anos.…”

“…Em relação ao sexo, em geral as amostras foram predominantemente compostas pelo sexo feminino (Coleman, et al, 2011;Hill, et al, 2016).…”

The Mediating Effect of Depression in Religiosity and Cognitive Function among Chinese Muslim Elderly

“…It assesses five different domains of cognitive function: (1) orientation with a maximum of 10 points, (2) memory with a maximum of 6 points, decline, with a corresponding significant reduction in caregiver burden [15]. This was explained by an increase in social integration, better behavioral self-control [16], and fewer life event stresses among those who are religiously active [17]. Religious involvements have also been associated with lower depression prevalence [18,19], a 14 years follow-up study in Canada demonstrated that more religious involvements reduced risk of developing major depression by 22% [20].…”