title: Religiosity and Self-Rated Health: A Longitudinal Examination of Their Reciprocal Effects.
abstract: While religiosity tends to be favorably associated with physical health, further research is needed to assess the causal directions between religiosity and health. This study examined reciprocal pathways between them with a three-wave panel dataset (General Social Survey, 2006-2010). Among Christians (N = 585), religious activities were associated with improved self-rated health, while conservative religious beliefs were associated with worsened health over time. Additionally, worse health was associated with increased engagement in religious activities and greater endorsement of conservative religious beliefs over time. Results highlight the need for additional research and theory to map the complexity of the religion-health connection.
authors.affiliation: Program in Social Psychology, Mailstop 300, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV, 89557, USA. mdoane@unr.edu.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Doane
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV, USA.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elliott
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012067:Religion
keywords: Longitudinal; Reciprocal effects; Religiosity; Self-rated health; Structural equation modeling