Hamm Sara I, Zimmer Zachary, Ofstedal Mary Beth
Global Aging and Community Initiative, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Res Aging. 2025 Feb;47(2):91-102. doi: 10.1177/01640275241267298. Epub 2024 Aug 1.
This study examines religiosity patterns across childhood and later adulthood and their associations with later-life health using an experimental module from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study ( = 1649; Mean Age = 64.0). Latent class analysis is used to categorize individuals by commonalities in religious attendance, religious identity, and spiritual identity. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations are then explored using probable depression, disability, and mortality as health indicators. Results reveal complex patterns, often characterized by declining attendance and fluctuating identity. Relationships with health appear stronger in cross-sectional analyses, suggesting that some associations may be non-causal. Individuals with consistently strong religiosity show significantly better psychological health compared to their relatively non-religious counterparts. Moreover, the absence of religiosity in later adulthood is associated with an increased risk of mortality. Overall, the findings support the promotion of religiosity whilst acknowledging individual variations and highlighting the need for more individualistic approaches to the study of religion and health.
本研究利用2016年健康与退休研究中的一个实验模块（样本量 = 1649；平均年龄 = 64.0岁），考察了儿童期和成年后期的宗教信仰模式及其与晚年健康的关联。潜在类别分析用于根据宗教活动参与度、宗教身份和精神身份的共性对个体进行分类。然后，以可能的抑郁、残疾和死亡率作为健康指标，探讨横断面和纵向关联。结果揭示了复杂的模式，其特征通常是宗教活动参与度下降和身份波动。在横断面分析中，宗教信仰与健康的关系似乎更强，这表明一些关联可能并非因果关系。与相对无宗教信仰的同龄人相比，宗教信仰始终坚定的个体心理健康状况明显更好。此外，成年后期缺乏宗教信仰与死亡风险增加有关。总体而言，研究结果支持促进宗教信仰，同时承认个体差异，并强调在宗教与健康研究中需要采用更具个性化的方法。
