Abstract
The purpose of this study is to see whether measures of church-based and secular social support offset the effects of functional disability on change in feelings of personal control over time. Survey data were obtained from Wave 2 and Wave 3 of a nationwide sample of older adults (N = 583). The findings suggest that spiritual support from fellow church members offsets the effects of functional disability on change in feelings of personal control over time. In contrast, neither emotional support from fellow church members nor emotional support from secular social network members exerted a similar effect.
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This research was supported by grants from the John Templeton Foundation and the National Institute on Aging (RO1 AG014749).
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Krause, N., David Hayward, R. Church-Based Social Support, Functional Disability, and Change in Personal Control over Time. J Relig Health 53, 267–278 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-013-9707-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-013-9707-0