A longitudinal study of social, religious, and spiritual capital and physical and emotional functioning in a national sample of African-Americans

Eddie M Clark; Lijing Ma; Beverly R Williams; Debarchana Ghosh; Crystal L Park; Emily Schulz; Nathaniel Woodard; Cheryl L Knott

doi:10.1002/jcop.22936

A longitudinal study of social, religious, and spiritual capital and physical and emotional functioning in a national sample of African-Americans

J Community Psychol. 2023 Apr;51(3):978-997. doi: 10.1002/jcop.22936. Epub 2022 Sep 17.

Authors

Eddie M Clark¹, Lijing Ma², Beverly R Williams³, Debarchana Ghosh⁴, Crystal L Park⁵, Emily Schulz⁶, Nathaniel Woodard⁷, Cheryl L Knott⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
² Department of Psychology, University of San Fransciso, USA.
³ Department of Medicine, University of Alabama - Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
⁴ Department of Geography, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
⁶ Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
⁷ Department of Behavioral and Community Health, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.

Abstract

The present study builds on prior research by examining the moderating relationships between different types of capital on physical functioning, emotional functioning, and depressive symptoms using a 2.5-year longitudinal design with a national sample of African-American adults. Results indicated a significant T1 social capital × T1 religious capital interaction such that among low T1 religious capital participants, those with high T1 social capital had lower T2 physical functioning than those with lower T1 social capital. There was also a marginally significant T1 social capital × T1 spiritual capital interaction suggesting that among low T1 spiritual capital participants, those with higher T1 social capital reported a decline in depressive symptoms compared to those with lower T1 social capital. Future research and implications for intervention and policy development are discussed.

Keywords: African-American; depressive symptoms; physicial functioning; religious capital; social capital.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adult
Black or African American*
Depression / psychology
Emotions*
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Social Support

Grants and funding

R01 CA154419/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States