Centre for Policy on Ageing



Religious involvement, social ties, and social support in a southeastern community
Author(s)	Christopher G Ellison, Linda K George
Journal title	Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, vol 33, no 1, 1994
Pages	pp 46-61
Keywords	Religious groups [elderly] ; Participation ; Social contacts ; Informal care ; Social surveys ; United States of America.
Annotation	Although many studies suggest that religious participation enhances the social resources of individuals, there is little empirical evidence on this issue. This study develops a theoretical model linking institutional religious participation, social ties, and social support. Hypotheses derived from this model are then tested using data on a large (N=2956) southeastern US sample. Frequent churchgoers report larger social networks, more contact with network members, more types of social support received, and more favourable perceptions of the quality of their social relationships than their non-churchgoing counterparts. Further, most of these empirical patterns withstand statistical controls for a wide range of co-variates. A number of promising directions for future research on religious differences in social resources are identified. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-981118205 A
Classmark	F:TR: TMB: TOA: P6: 3F: 7T *
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.