Lucinda Lee Roff

Religiosity and mental health in southern, community-dwelling older adults

This study considers potential interaction effects of three measures of religiosity, organized (OR), non-organized (NOR), and intrinsic religiosity (IR), on depression and general mental health, controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and mobility. In-home interviews were conducted among a stratified random sample of Medicare beneficiaries from five central Alabama counties (the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging). Those who were high on all three dimensions of religiosity reported having fewer symptoms of depression and better mental health than did those who were low on all three dimensions of religiosity. Subjects who scored high on OR reported lower levels of depression (F (1, 981) = 3.97, p<0.05). Neither IR nor NOR had salutary effects on the measure of depression nor on the general measure of mental health. The interpretation of the relationships of religiosity with the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the general mental health (Mental Component Score of the SF-12; MCS) measures was complicated by the presence of three way interactions (F (1, 981) = 9.02, p<0.01 and F (1, 981) = 5.46, p<0.05, for GDS and MCS respectively). The presence of interaction effects between the different dimensions of religiosity and mental health affirms the importance of remaining sensitive to the multidimensional nature of religiousness and its relationships with measures of mental health.

Secondary Traumatic Stress and Oncology Social Work: Protecting Compassion from Fatigue and Compromising the Worker's Worldview

Abstract Secondary traumatic stress (STS) represents a disorder that has the same symptoms as post traumatic stress disorder, but results from vicariously experiencing trauma through association with those directly encountering the traumatic event(s). This exploratory study examined STS in 21 oncology social workers who were members of the Association of Oncology Social Workers. The results of this study revealed that oncology social workers experienced compassion fatigue and burnout and that these variables were inversely related to compassion satisfaction. Other relationships between emotional involvement, ability to separate work from home, level of licensure, personal loss, and empathetic responsiveness were also examined.

Social Engagement in Assisted Living and Implications for Practice

While it is known that social engagement is important for the well-being of older people, its role among residents in assisted living (AL) residences has not been well explored. The purposes of this study were to explore the experiences of social engagement among AL residents and explain its components and processes as unique to this setting. Qualitative data were collected via semistructured, in-depth interviews with 29 residents in four AL residences in a Southern state. Salient themes were derived using the grounded theory approach. Findings revealed the complexity of social engagement and were organized around five themes related to characteristics of desired social relationships, the perspective of time and loss, barriers to and resources for social engagement, and strategies to develop or modify relationships. AL providers could make concerted efforts to develop practices to provide residents with more social and emotional resources and help them engage in meaningful social interactions.

Religiousness and Longitudinal Trajectories in Elders' Functional Status

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of religiousness on the trajectories of difficulties with activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs (IADLs) in community-dwelling older adults over a three-year period. Seven waves of data from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging were analyzed using a hierarchical linear modeling method. The study was based on the 784 participants who completed interviews every six months between December 1999 and February 2004. Frequent religious service attendance was associated with fewer ADL difficulties and IADL difficulties at baseline. Furthermore, religious service attendance predicted slower increases for frequent churchgoers and steeper increases for less frequent churchgoers in IADL difficulties, controlling for variables related to demographics and resources. Religious service attendance was independently associated with ADL and IADL difficulties cross-sectionally. However, significant protective effects of religious service attendance were identified longitudinally only for the IADL trajectory.

Predicting the trajectories of depressive symptoms among southern community-dwelling older adults: The role of religiosity

Background: This study examined the effects of religiosity on the trajectories of depressive symptoms in a sample of community-dwelling older adults over a four-year period in a Southern state in the US. Methods: Data from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Study of Aging were analyzed using a hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) method. This study involved 1000 participants aged 65 and above (M age = 75 at baseline, SD = 5.97) and data were collected annually from 1999 to 2003. The Geriatric Depression Scale measured depressive symptoms; the Duke University Religion Index measured religious service attendance, prayer, and intrinsic religiosity; and control variables included sociodemographics, health, and social and economic factors. Results: The HLM analysis indicated a curvilinear trajectory of depressive symptoms over time. At baseline, participants who attended religious services more frequently tended to report fewer depressive symptoms. Participants with the highest levels of intrinsic religiosity at baseline experienced a steady decline in the number of depressive symptoms over the four-year period, while those with lower levels of intrinsic religiosity experienced a short-term decline followed by an increase in the number of depressive symptoms. Implications: In addition to facilitating access to health, social support and financial resources for older adults, service professionals might consider culturally appropriate, patient-centered interventions that boost the salutary effects of intrinsic religiosity on depressive symptoms.

A Cluster Analysis Typology of Religiousness/Spirituality Among Older Adults

This study used cluster analysis to identify sets of individuals similar to one another across multiple measures of religiousness and then ascertained if these groups differed by sociodemographic characteristics, health risk behaviors, physical health and functional status, and mental health. The authors identified six clusters using data from 1,000 community-dwelling older adults in a k-means cluster analysis of a modified version of the Duke University Religion Index. Participants in the strongly religious, moderately religious, and minimally religious clusters had the highest scores on the health, functional status, and mental health variables. The privately practicing moderate attender and the privately practicing nonattender groups were similar to each other and generally had poorer health, functional status, and mental health. The typology illustrates the importance of simultaneously considering multiple measures of religiousness and the complexity of the relationships among religiousness, sociodemographic characteristics, and health and well-being.

Religiosity, Smoking, Exercise, and Obesity Among Southern, Community-Dwelling Older Adults

This study examined associations between organizational (OR), nonorganizational (NOR), and intrinsic religiosity (IR) and measures of cigarette smoking, exercise, and obesity among older adults, controlling for measures of sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidity. In-home interviews were conducted among a stratified, random sample of Medicare beneficiaries from five central Alabama counties (the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging). Balanced numbers of African American and White, female and male, and rural and urban participants were recruited for the study. OR and NOR were negatively related to lifetime cigarette smoking and OR was positively related to leisure-time physical activity, even when controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidity. No measure of religiosity was related to the likelihood of being obese, and IR did not predict smoking or exercise. The authors suggest that faith-based communities may be important resources for delivering health promotion programs for older adults.

Death anxiety and religiosity among lithuanian health and social service professionals

This study examined the applicability of the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale (MFODS; J.W.Hoetler, 1979a) in Lithuania, a culture where death anxiety has not been studied previously. It also ascertained the relationship between death anxiety and a multidimensional measure of religiosity. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that MFODS structure fit the Lithuanian data reasonably well, particularly if factors were allowed to be correlated. Lithuanian participants who expressed higher levels of intrinsic religiosity also expressed less fear of the unknown, but no other independent, linear relationships existed among the various dimensions of religiosity and death anxiety.

Transportation Difficulty of Black and White Rural Older Adults

This study explores self-reported transportation difficulty among rural older adults, using data from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging for community-dwelling participants (255 Black and 259 White) residing in rural areas. The authors examine the relationship of predisposing characteristics, enabling resources, and measures of need for care with self-reports of transportation difficulty. Blacks report having more transportation difficulty than Whites (24.7% vs. 11.6%; p < .05). When the authors introduce other variables, race differences disappear, but there is a race-by-income interaction with transportation difficulty. Whites with lower incomes are more likely to have transportation difficulty than Whites with higher incomes. When data from Blacks and Whites are analyzed separately, income is the only variable associated with transportation difficulty among Whites. Among Blacks, income is not related to transportation difficulty but several variables other than income (age, gender, marital status, Mini Mental State Exam scores, and depression) are.

Psychosocial and Career Mentoring: Female African American Social Work Education Administrators' Experiences.

There is a scarcity of knowledge on the mentoring experiences of Black women in social work academia. Using a survey methodology, this pilot study examines the mentoring experiences of 10 Black, female leaders in social work education as protégées. It also examines how they describe their current mentoring behavior toward recent protégés. The results indicate participants provide more psychosocial and career mentoring than they received as doctoral students or as faculty members. Additionally, participants received the least help from their own mentors in balancing career and family and currently give little assistance of this kind to their own protégés.