RACE AND ETHNIC-DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECTS OF RELIGIOUS ATTENDANCE ONSUBJECTIVE HEALTH

Religion and health research has not adequately addressed how the salu tary benefits of participating in religious services differ among majo r racial and ethnic groups. This research uses data from the General S ocial Surveys to analyze differences in the effects of religious atten dance upon subjective health among a sample of non-latino White, non L atino Black, and Latino adults. Modeled after a study by Levin and Mar kides (1986), first-order regressions of religious attendance on subje ctive health alternately controlled for social support, socioeconomic status, and subjective religiosity. The association between attendance and health tends to hold lip among Whites and younger Black and Latin o women, but controlling for subjective religiosity explained away biv ariate associations among younger respondents in all three race/ethnic groups. Support for the socioeconomic status hypothesis was expected among Blacks and Latinos, but the results did not provide much evidenc e.