The purpose of this study was to evaluate a conceptual model that assesses whether praying to the saints or the Virgin is associated with the health of older Mexican Americans. A survey was conducted of 1,005 older Mexican Americans (Mean age = 73.9 years; SD = 6.6 years). Data from 795 of the Catholic respondents are presented in this study. The…

Introduces a measure of natural supportive behaviors in studies that examine the relationship between stress, social support, and health among older adults. Based on data from a random community survey of 351 older adults, the psychometric properties and factor structure of the scale are explored. (Author/TE)

Examined whether self-rated health of older Blacks was worse than that of older Whites and, if so, whether the life stress perspective could explain racial differences in perceived health. Blacks perceive their health as worse than Whites. Chronic financial strain was associated with ill health among Whites; network crisis events were related to…

The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) to model changes in health over time among older adults; and 2) to assess the degree to which stress arising in salient social roles accounts for individual variation in these changes. Individual growth curve analyses using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) software were employed with longitudinal data…