Mitchell J, Weatherly D
School of Medicine, Center on Aging, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858-4353, USA.
J Cross Cult Gerontol. 2000;15(1):37-54. doi: 10.1023/a:1006752307461.
Data from 2 independent random samples of the population of community-dwelling older adults in eastern North Carolina are used to assess the effects of Christian religious subdimensions, including church attendance and participation, belief that religious faith affects health, and belief that prayer and God combine with medical treatment to cure illness, upon mental health. Self-reported religiosity in this population across dimensions is described and the effects of selected demographic characteristics upon religiosity are assessed. Lastly, the main effects of demographic characteristics, religiosity, and health status upon the mental health of respondents are explored. Findings suggest that Christian religious beliefs and practices are widespread in this mainly rural population and that females and African American elderly people are more likely than others to profess religious beliefs and to participate in church-related activities. Multivariate results suggest that reduced health status, including functional ability, combines with limited participation in church activities to result in poorer self-rated mental health and more symptoms of depression. The implications of the findings for the role of Christian religiosity in health and mental health are discussed.
来自北卡罗来纳州东部社区居住的老年人总体的两个独立随机样本的数据，被用于评估基督教宗教子维度对心理健康的影响，这些子维度包括参加教会活动和参与度、宗教信仰影响健康的信念，以及祈祷和上帝与医疗相结合治愈疾病的信念。描述了该人群在各个维度上自我报告的宗教信仰情况，并评估了选定的人口统计学特征对宗教信仰的影响。最后，探讨了人口统计学特征、宗教信仰和健康状况对受访者心理健康的主要影响。研究结果表明，基督教宗教信仰和实践在这个主要为农村的人群中广泛存在，并且女性和非裔美国老年人比其他人更有可能 profess 宗教信仰并参与与教会相关的活动。多变量结果表明，包括功能能力在内的健康状况下降，与参与教会活动有限相结合，导致自我评定的心理健康较差和更多的抑郁症状。讨论了这些发现对基督教宗教信仰在健康和心理健康中的作用的影响。
“profess”此处可能是“宣称、公开表明”之意，原英文文本此处表述似乎不太完整准确。
