School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Program for Research on Black Americans, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2022 Nov 23;77(11):2006-2015. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbac041.
This study investigates church-based informal social support among older African Americans and Black Caribbeans. In particular, we examine the correlates of receiving emotional support as well as negative interactions (e.g., criticisms) from church members.
The analysis is based on the older African American (n = 829) and Black Caribbean (n = 271) subsample of the National Survey of American Life. The analysis utilizes multiple group structural equation modeling (SEM) to test a model of church support networks.
There were no significant differences between older African Americans and older Black Caribbeans in the frequency of service attendance, contact with church members (seeing, writing, talking), emotional support from church members, or negative interactions with church members. However, a comparison of SEM analysis indicates that the number and pattern of relationships are different. For instance, among African Americans church attendance was associated with emotional support, but among Black Caribbeans attendance did not have a direct or indirect effect on emotional support. Our findings also indicate that among older African Americans, women attend religious services more frequently and both receive emotional support and engage in negative interactions with church members more frequently than men. Among Black Caribbeans, however, men attend religious services less frequently than women but also have more negative interactions with church members.
For both African American and Black Caribbean older adults, church members are an important element of their social support networks. Our analysis also underscores the importance of contact with church members for receiving emotional support for both populations.
本研究调查了老年非裔美国人和黑人加勒比裔美国人的教会非正式社会支持。具体而言，我们研究了从教会成员那里获得情感支持和负面互动（例如批评）的相关因素。
该分析基于国家生活调查的老年非裔美国人（n=829）和黑人加勒比（n=271）亚样本。该分析利用多组结构方程模型（SEM）检验教会支持网络模型。
在服务出勤率、与教会成员的接触（见、写、谈）、教会成员的情感支持或与教会成员的负面互动方面，老年非裔美国人和老年黑人加勒比人之间没有显著差异。然而，SEM 分析的比较表明，关系的数量和模式是不同的。例如，在非裔美国人中，参加宗教仪式与情感支持有关，但在黑人加勒比人中，参加宗教仪式对情感支持没有直接或间接的影响。我们的研究结果还表明，在老年非裔美国人中，女性更频繁地参加宗教服务，并且比男性更频繁地从教会成员那里获得情感支持并与教会成员发生负面互动。然而，在黑人加勒比人中，男性比女性参加宗教服务的频率更低，但与教会成员的负面互动也更多。
对于非裔美国人和黑人加勒比裔的老年成年人来说，教会成员是其社会支持网络的重要组成部分。我们的分析还强调了与教会成员接触对这两个群体获得情感支持的重要性。
