van Olphen Juliana, Schulz Amy, Israel Barbara, Chatters Linda, Klem Laura, Parker Edith, Williams David
San Francisco State University, Department of Health Education, 1600 Holloway Ave., HSS 312, San Francisco, CA 94132-4161, USA.
J Gen Intern Med. 2003 Jul;18(7):549-57. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.21031.x.
A significant body of research suggests that religious involvement is related to better mental and physical health. Religion or spirituality was identified as an important health protective factor by women participating in the East Side Village Health Worker Partnership (ESVHWP), a community-based participatory research initiative on Detroit's east side. However, relatively little research to date has examined the mechanisms through which religion may exert a positive effect on health.
The research presented here examines the direct effects of different forms of religious involvement on health, and the mediating effects of social support received in the church as a potential mechanism that may account for observed relationships between church attendance and health.
This study involved a random sample household survey of 679 African-American women living on the east side of Detroit, conducted as part of the ESVHWP.
Results of multivariate analyses show that respondents who pray less often report a greater number of depressive symptoms, and that faith, as an important source of strength in one's daily life, is positively associated with chronic conditions such as asthma or arthritis. Tests of the mediating effect of social support in the church indicated that social support received from church members mediates the positive relationship between church attendance and specific indicators of health.
These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that one of the major ways religious involvement benefits health is through expanding an individual's social connections. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.
大量研究表明，宗教参与与更好的身心健康相关。宗教或灵性被参与东区乡村卫生工作者伙伴关系（ESVHWP）的女性视为重要的健康保护因素，该伙伴关系是底特律东区一项基于社区的参与性研究倡议。然而，迄今为止，相对较少的研究探讨了宗教可能对健康产生积极影响的机制。
本文所呈现的研究考察了不同形式的宗教参与对健康的直接影响，以及在教会中获得的社会支持作为一种潜在机制的中介作用，该机制可能解释了参加教会与健康之间观察到的关系。
本研究涉及对底特律东区679名非裔美国女性进行的随机抽样家庭调查，这是ESVHWP的一部分。
多变量分析结果显示，祈祷频率较低的受访者报告的抑郁症状更多，而信仰作为日常生活中力量的重要来源，与哮喘或关节炎等慢性病呈正相关。对教会中社会支持中介作用的测试表明，从教会成员那里获得的社会支持中介了参加教会与特定健康指标之间的积极关系。
这些发现与以下假设一致，即宗教参与有益于健康的主要方式之一是通过扩大个人的社会联系。讨论了这些发现对研究和实践的启示。
