R. David Hayward

Association of Five-Factor Model Personality Domains and Facets with Presence, Onset, and Treatment Outcomes of Major Depression in Older Adults

OBJECTIVES To assess the relationship of multiple domains and facets of the five-factor model of personality with presence, onset, and severity of late-life depression. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis of depression status, and age of onset. Retrospective analysis of baseline severity. Longitudinal analysis of severity after 3 and 12 months of psychiatric treatment. SETTING Private university-affiliated medical center in the Southeastern United States. PARTICIPANTS One hundred twelve psychiatric patients with a current episode of unipolar major depression, and 104 nondepressed comparison subjects, age 60 and older (mean: 70, SD: 6). MEASUREMENTS Revised NEO Personality Inventory, Diagnostic Interview Schedule, and Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. RESULTS Binary logistic regression found that depression was related to higher neuroticism (and all its facets) and to lower extraversion (and facets of assertiveness, activity, and positive emotionality) and conscientiousness (and facets of competence, order, dutifulness, and self-discipline). Multinomial logistic regression found some of these relationships held only for depression with onset before age 50 (hostility, self-consciousness, extraversion, assertiveness, positive emotions, order, and dutifulness). Linear regression found that personality was unrelated to depression severity at the beginning of treatment, but improvement after 3 months was related to lower neuroticism (and facets depressiveness and stress-vulnerability) and higher warmth and competence. Improvement after 12 months was related to lower neuroticism, depressiveness, and stress-vulnerability. CONCLUSIONS Specific personality facets are related with depression and treatment outcomes. Screening for certain personality traits at the start of treatment may help identify patients at risk of worse response to treatment after 3 months.

Religion and the Presence and Severity of Depression in Older Adults

OBJECTIVES : To examine the associations of dimensions of religiousness with the presence and severity of depression in older adults. DESIGN : Cross-sectional analysis of clinical and interview data. SETTING : Private university-affiliated medical center in the Southeastern United States. PARTICIPANTS : Four hundred seventy-six psychiatric patients with a current episode of unipolar major depression, and 167 nondepressed comparison subjects, ages 58 years or older (mean = 70 years, SD = 7). MEASUREMENTS : Diagnostic Interview Schedule, Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, and Duke Depression Evaluation Schedule were used in the study. RESULTS : Presence of depression was related to less frequent worship attendance, more frequent private religious practice, and moderate subjective religiosity. Among the depressed group, less severe depression was related to more frequent worship attendance, less religiousness, and having had a born-again experience. These results were only partially explained by effects of social support and stress buffering. CONCLUSIONS : Religion is related to depression diagnosis and severity via multiple pathways.

Weber Revisited A Cross-National Analysis of Religiosity, Religious Culture, and Economic Attitudes

Weber’s Protestant Ethic hypothesis holds that elements of theology gave Protestants a cultural affinity with the economic demands of early market capitalism, particularly compared with their Catholic neighbors, which led to more rapid economic development in nations where Protestant culture was dominant. Previous research has found inconsistent support for a Protestant inclination toward pro-market attitudes, depending on whether the level of analysis was at the individual or national level. The present study uses cross-national panel data to combine these approaches with multilevel modeling. Results showed effects at the national level; people living in nations with dominantly Protestant cultural histories had more pro-market economic attitudes. At the individual level, there were differences in the impact of religiosity by religious group affiliation; Protestants had relatively pro-market attitudes regardless of religiosity, while members of other groups tended to increase in market orientation as a function of religiosity. Together, these effects support the existence of a Protestant Ethic that is linked with cultural Protestantism, rather than with personal adherence to specific Protestant religious beliefs.

Changes in Church-Based Social Support Relationships During Older Adulthood

OBJECTIVES To track the course of age-related changes in emotional and tangible support given and received by older adults in the context of their religious congregations. METHOD Hierarchical linear modeling was applied to data from a national sample of 1,192 White and African American older adults who attended church regularly, and they were interviewed up to four times over a period of seven years. RESULTS Changes were found in six measures of support. Participants increased in terms of the amount of emotional support that they both gave and received, whereas decreased in the amount of tangible support they gave and received. Satisfaction increased with age for both emotional and tangible support. There were large race-related differences, with African Americans being more engaged in support relationships of all types. Religious factors, including frequency of attendance, commitment, and the congregational cohesiveness were strong predictors of between-person differences. DISCUSSION This study is the first to demonstrate within-person change in church-based support relationships during the course of older adulthood. Patterns of increasing quantity and quality of emotional ties, but decreasing tangible support, partially contrast with previous findings regarding secular support networks but are consistent with the socioemotional selectivity perspective.

Humility, Lifetime Trauma, and Change in Religious Doubt Among Older Adults

Compared to research on the positive or beneficial effects of religion on health, far fewer studies have been designed to examine the potentially negative aspects of religion. The purpose of this study is to examine a potentially negative part of leading a religious life—religious doubt. More specifically, the current study was designed to assess the relationships among humility, exposure to lifetime trauma, and change in religious doubt over time. Two hypotheses were developed to explore the relationships among these constructs. The first hypothesis predicts that greater exposure to traumatic events at any point in the life course will be associated with greater doubts about religion over time. The second hypothesis proposes that the potentially deleterious effects of exposure to lifetime trauma will be buffered or offset for individuals who are more humble. Findings from a nationwide, longitudinal survey of older adults provide support for both hypotheses. This appears to be the first time that the relationship among humility, lifetime trauma, and change in religious doubt has been evaluated empirically.

Subjective and objective fit in religious congregations: Implications for well-being

For most religiously affiliated people, the context of the religious group is a central element of the religious experience, but it is also one that has been relatively neglected in the study of the impact of religion on well-being. This study used social attraction as a framework to examine the role of individual—group fit in three congregations, with respect to four outcomes with implications for overall well-being. Structural equation modeling of survey data indicated that subjective fit with the congregation’s prototype was associated with greater life satisfaction and better self-reported health. Objective fit with observed congregational norms was associated only with greater life satisfaction. These effects were not mediated by existential certainty or by social support.

Patterns of change in religious service attendance across the life course: Evidence from a 34-year longitudinal study.

Although a number of studies have uncovered evidence of age differences in religious involvement across the life course, there has been a lack of long-term longitudinal data to test the extent to which these differences are due to changes within individuals over time. This study tracks trajectories of change in religious service attendance using data collected longitudinally over the course of up to 34years, between 1971 and 2005, and in ages ranging from 15 to 102. Piecewise growth curve modeling was used to examine changes in the patterns of age-related change in three distinct developmental periods: the transition from adolescence to young adulthood, middle adulthood, and older adulthood. Attendance showed an average pattern of quadratic decline in adolescence, stability in middle adulthood, and a quadratic pattern of more rapid increase followed by decrease over the course of older adulthood. These results suggest that developmental factors play a role in changing patterns of religious participation across the adult life course, and may account for some of the apparent differences between age groups.

Trajectories of Late-Life Change in God-Mediated Control

OBJECTIVE To track within-individual change during late life in the sense of personal control and God-mediated control (the belief that one can work collaboratively with God to achieve ones goals and exercise control over life events) and to evaluate the hypothesis that this element of religion is related to declining personal control. METHOD A longitudinal survey representative of older White and Black adults in the United States tracked changes in personal and God-mediated control in four waves over the course of 7 years. RESULTS Growth curve analysis found that the pattern of change differed by race. White adults had less sense of God-mediated control at younger ages, which increased among those who were highly religious but decreased among those who were less religious. Black adults had higher God-mediated control, which increased over time among those with low personal control. DISCUSSION These results indicate that God-mediated control generally increases during older adulthood, but that its relationships with personal control and religious commitment are complex and differ between Black and White adults.

Trajectories of disability in older adulthood and social support from a religious congregation: a growth curve analysis

This study examined the role of congregational support as a mechanism by which religious involvement may slow the decline of functional ability during late life. Disability was tracked longitudinally over a 4-year period in a national sample of 805 Black and White older adults from the religion, aging, and health survey. Individuals with more extensive disability reported receiving greater amounts of tangible support from their congregations. However, receiving higher levels of tangible support was also associated with a slower trajectory of increase in disability over time. The relationship between congregational support and disability did not differ significantly between Blacks and Whites. Results support the hypothesis that social support networks based in the religious group are responsible for some of the association between religious involvement and reduced risk of late life disability.

Prayer Beliefs and Change in Life Satisfaction Over Time

A considerable number of studies have focused on the relationship between prayer, health, and well-being. But the influence of some types of prayer (e.g., petitionary prayer) has received more attention than others. The purpose of this study is to examine an overlooked aspect of prayer: trust-based prayer beliefs. People with this orientation believe that God knows that best way to answer a prayer and He selects the best time to provide an answer. Three main findings emerge from data that were provided by a nationwide longitudinal survey of older people reveals. First, the results reveal that Conservative Protestants are more likely to endorse trust-based prayer beliefs. Second, the findings suggest that these prayer beliefs tend to be reinforced through prayer groups and informal support from fellow church members. Third, the data indicate that stronger trust-based prayer beliefs are associated with a greater sense of life satisfaction over time.