Assessment of religious and spiritual capital in African American communities.

African American faith communities are an important source of social capital. The present study adapted a theory-based social capital instrument to result in religious (e.g., from organized worship) and spiritual (e.g., from relationship with higher power) capital measures. Data from a national sample of 803 African Americans suggest the instruments have high internal reliability and are distinct from general religiosity. Measurement models confirmed factor structures. Religious capital was positively associated with self-rated health status. Religious and spiritual capital were negatively associated with depressive symptoms, but these associations largely became nonsignificant in multivariate models that controlled for demographic characteristics. An exception is for spiritual capital in the form of community participation, which retained a negative association with depressive symptoms. These instruments may have applied value for health promotion research and practice in African American communities.

Spiritual health locus of control and health behaviors in African Americans.

OBJECTIVE: To examine relationships between spiritual health locus of control beliefs and various health behaviors. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of a national sample of African Americans assessed spiritual beliefs, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: Active spiritual beliefs were positively associated with fruit consumption and negatively associated with alcohol consumption. Passive spiritual beliefs were associated with lower vegetable and increased alcohol consumption. Among male participants, passive spiritual beliefs were associated with higher alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that dimensions of spiritual health locus of control beliefs have complex and varying relationships with health behaviors.

Development and validation of an instrument to assess perceived social influence on health behaviors.

Assessment of social influence on health behavior is often approached through a situational context. The current study adapted an existing, theory-based instrument from another content domain to assess Perceived Social Influence on Health Behavior (PSI-HB) among African Americans, using an individual difference approach. The adapted instrument was found to have high internal reliability (α = .81-.84) and acceptable test-retest reliability (r = .68-.85). A measurement model revealed a three-factor structure and supported the theoretical underpinnings. Scores were predictive of health behaviors, particularly among women. Future research using the new instrument may have applied value assessing social influence in the context of health interventions.

Development and Validation of Instruments to Assess Potential Religion-Health Mechanisms in an African American Population.

The health disparities that negatively affect African Americans are well-documented; however, there are also many sociocultural factors that may play a protective role in health outcomes. Religious involvement is noted to be important in the African American community and to have a positive association with health outcomes. However, few studies have explained why this relationship exists. This article reports on the development and validation of instruments to assess two proposed mediators of the relationship between religiosity and health for an African American population; perceived religious influence on health behaviors and illness as punishment from a higher power. We used a systematic iterative process, including interviews and questionnaire data from African Americans who provided feedback on item wording. We also solicited input from African American pastors. In a sample of 55 African Americans, the instruments appeared to have strong internal reliability (alpha = .74 and .91, respectively) as well as test-retest reliability (r = .65, .84, respectively, p < .001). Evidence far construct validity is also discussed, as are recommendations for health disparities research using these instruments.