Kinship and Cohort in an Aging Society: From Generation to Generation

11. Church-Based Negative Interactions among Older African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and Non-Hispanic Whites

chapter eleven Church-Based Negative Interactions among Older African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and Non-Hispanic Whites Karen D. Lincoln, Linda M. Chatters, and Robert Joseph Taylor There is a long history of research and scholarship on the importance of family and religion in the lives of African Americans (Billingsley, 1992, 1999; Hill, 1999; Taylor, Chatters, & Levin, 2004; Taylor, Jackson, & Chatters, 1997), and an emerging literature has begun to investigate the intersection of religion and family (Chatters & Taylor, 2006). One major intersection between religion and family is found in research examining family and churchbased informal social support networks (Chatters, Taylor, Lincoln, & Schroepfer , 2002; Krause, 2002; Taylor, Lincoln, & Chatters, 2005). This work indicates that church members are an integral component of the social support networks of many older African Americans. However, increased interaction with any social group has both positive and negative consequences. Involvement in both families and churches is important for receiving social support, but it can also be associated with negative social interactions involving criticism, gossip, and other types of interpersonal conflict. This particular type of conflict is especially important because it involves interactions with members of an individual’s social support network and has been shown to have adverse effects on health and well-being in late life (Lincoln, 2007; Mavandadi, Rook, & Newsom, 2007; Newsom, Nishishiba, Morgan, & Rook, 238 Religion and Families 2003; Newsom, Rook, Nishishiba, Sorkin, & Mahan, 2005; Sorkin & Rook, 2006). Although there is a fairly developed literature on negative interactions with family members, there is very little information on negative interaction with church members. Further, very limited attention has been paid to negative interactions involving social networks among racial and ethnic minority older adults. Accordingly, the goal of the present study is to examine the relationships among demographic factors, church involvement, and church-based negative interaction among a nationally representative sample of African American, Caribbean Black, and Non-Hispanic White older adults. Race, Ethnicity, and Religious Participation Religion plays an important role in the lives of Americans, particularly older adults and African Americans. These two groups have high rates of religious involvement across a variety of indicators including religious service attendance, church membership, and prayer. Recent investigations of religious participation have examined differences and similarities in religious participation for older African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and Non-Hispanic Whites. Both older Black Caribbeans and African Americans have high rates of religious involvement and report higher levels of religious involvement compared to older Non-Hispanic Whites (Taylor, Chatters, & Jackson, 2007a). These initial comparisons suggest that race is more important than ethnicity in patterning religious participation among older adults. That is to say, older African Americans and Caribbean Blacks were similar to one another in their religious involvement profiles, and both groups were different from Non-Hispanic Whites. However, a number of interesting differences distinguish African American and Black Caribbean older adults with respect to religious participation. Although older Black Caribbeans display levels of attendance, nonorganizational religious activity (e.g., prayer, reading religious materials), and subjective religiosity (e.g., perceived importance of religiosity) that are comparable to African Americans, they are less likely to be official members of a church, to ask others to pray for them, and to have distinctive denominational profiles (i.e., Caribbean Blacks are more likely to identify as Episcopalian, Pentecostal, and Catholic) (Taylor, Chatters , & Jackson, 2007a,b). Church-Based Negative Interactions 239 Negative Interaction in Church-Based Networks Due to the high levels of religious service attendance among older adults, especially African Americans, church members are an important aspect of their social support networks (Chatters, Taylor, Lincoln, & Schroepfer, 2002; Krause, 2002; Taylor & Chatters, 1986, 1988). An emerging body of research indicates that church members provide both emotional support and tangible assistance (such as running errands or providing transportation) to older adults. Church members may be a particularly important source of assistance for older individuals without family members in close proximity (Chatters, Taylor, Lincoln, & Schroepfer, 2002). While church-based support may contribute to positive health outcomes, Ellison and Levin (1998) note that involvement in church-based networks may also be associated with negative social interactions that adversely impact health and well-being (see Krause, Ellison, & Wulff, 1998; Krause & Wulff, 2005). For example, church networks may make excessive demands on members’ time, resources, and energy. Continued unequal or unreciprocated support exchanges may lead members to perceive that they are being taken advantage of and are unappreciated. Further, participation in church networks may expose members to judgment, criticism...