Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

Purpose: Religiosity has been identified as a source of strength for individuals coping with life crises (Pargament, 1997), as well as for those coping with the strain of providing care to a person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (Chadiha & Fisher, 2002; Morano & King, 2005; Picot, 1997). And while African American caregivers have reported using their religious beliefs to help them cope with the strain of being a caregiver, there has been limited research that has specifically focused in examining the effects of religiosity on positive and negative outcomes with this population. The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effects of religiosity on African American AD caregivers reported negative (Depression & Somatic Complaints) and positive (Life Satisfaction & Self Acceptance) well-being. Methods: A purposive sample of African American AD caregivers (N=88) were recruited to examine the mediating effects of religiosity on depression, somatic complaints, life satisfaction, and self-acceptance. In order to test the research hypotheses a series of three regression equations were run for each of the outcome variables. The caregivers age, income, education, and relationship to the patient were entered in Step 1; the independent variable (Problematic Behavior of the AD Patient) was entered in Step 2, and the hypothesized mediator was entered in the third and final step. Findings: Religiosity had a direct effect on the positive outcomes of life satisfaction and on self-acceptance, but it did not have a direct effect on negative outcomes of depression or somatic complaints. Religiosity explained approximately 30% of the variance in self-acceptance (p <.05) and approximately 9% of the variance in depression (p < .05). However, according to the criteria set forth by Baron and Kenny (1987), religiosity did not have significant mediating effect for either of the positive outcomes. While the effects of problematic behavior appeared to be reduced for both positive outcomes the effects of problematic behavior remained significant after religiosity was entered on the third and final step. While religiosity did have significant direct effects on the positive outcomes, it did not have significant direct effects on either of the negative outcomes (i.e., depression or somatic complaints). Implications: While the findings of this study failed to confirm the research hypotheses, the findings have implications for social work practice and research. That religiosity appeared to have a significant direct effect on both of the positive outcomes but did not have a significant effect on either of the negative outcomes would appear to contradict some of the earlier research. The findings of this study suggest that a faith based intervention could help to increase the presence of positive well-being, but it alone might not have the effect of decreasing depression or somatic complaints of African American caregivers. The lack of any significant findings regarding the negative outcomes indicates a need for further research to better understand the role of religiosity.