Exploring the Relationship of Religiosity, Religious Support, and Social Support Among African American Women in a Physical Activity Intervention Program

Abstract

Religious belief has been linked to a variety of positive mental and physical health outcomes. This exploratory study will address the relationship between religious involvement and social connectedness among African American women. Results from a physical activity intervention research project (N = 465) found that total religious support and social support were significantly negatively correlated with total religiosity, while total general social support was significantly positively correlated with total religious support. Overall, the study indicates that more research is needed on ways to encourage interaction between the positive dimensions of both religiosity and social support to bring about healthy behaviors.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00991731.

Keywords: Physical activity; Religious social support; Women’s health.