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Author: Upenieks, Laura
Resulting in 4 citations.
1. Upenieks, Laura
Schafer, Markus H.
Religious Attendance and Physical Health in Later Life: A Life Course Approach
Journal of Health and Social Behavior 61,4 (December 2020): 486-502.
Also: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022146520961363
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Parental Influences; Religious Influences; Smoking (see Cigarette Use)

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Existing research on the life course origins of adult health has extensively examined the influence of childhood socioeconomic conditions, family structure, and exposure to trauma. Left unexplored are the potential long-term health effects of sociocultural exposures, such as religiosity at earlier phases of the life course. Integrating life course models of health with literature on the health-protective effects of adult religiosity, we consider how adolescent and midlife religiosity combine to structure the physical health profiles of adults past age 50. Using more than 35 years of representative data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 79 (NLSY79), we found that the stability of frequent religious practice over time was associated with better health composite scores and lower disease burden. Causal mediation analyses revealed that part of this association is driven by a lower risk of smoking for consistent, frequent attenders. Adulthood religiosity also mediated the relationship between frequent early-life religious attendance and health.
Bibliography Citation
Upenieks, Laura and Markus H. Schafer. "Religious Attendance and Physical Health in Later Life: A Life Course Approach." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 61,4 (December 2020): 486-502.
2. Upenieks, Laura
Thomas, Patricia A.
Gaining Faith, Losing Faith: How Education Shapes the Relationship between Religious Transitions and Later Depression
Journal of Health and Social Behavior published online (19 October 2021): DOI: 10.1177/00221465211046356.
Also: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00221465211046356
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Depression (see also CESD); Educational Attainment; Health, Mental/Psychological; Religion

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Using the life course perspective, we assess the "resources" and "risks" to mental health associated with transitions in religious attendance between early life and midlife and how this process may be influenced by education. Drawing on over 35 years of prospective panel data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, baseline models suggest that stable, frequent attendance accumulated between adolescence to midlife and increases to frequent attendance by adulthood are associated with the lowest depression relative to consistent nonattenders. Individuals who declined in their religious participation report higher depression. Education conditioned this association, whereby declines in religious participation negatively impacted the health of those without a college degree more strongly and increases benefitted the well-educated to a greater extent. We combine insights from the life course perspective and work on social stratification and religiosity to interpret our results and offer directives for future research.
Bibliography Citation
Upenieks, Laura and Patricia A. Thomas. "Gaining Faith, Losing Faith: How Education Shapes the Relationship between Religious Transitions and Later Depression." Journal of Health and Social Behavior published online (19 October 2021): DOI: 10.1177/00221465211046356.
3. Upenieks, Laura
Thomas, Patricia A.
Matters of the Heart: Childhood Maltreatment, Religious Transitions, and Cardiovascular-Related Problems over the Life Course
Journal of Aging and Health published online (2 November 2022): DOI: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08982643221135689
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Sage Publications
Keyword(s): Childhood Adversity/Trauma; Health, Chronic Conditions; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Religious Influences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Objectives: Childhood maltreatment is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular-related problems, the leading cause of death in the United States. Drawing from cumulative inequality theory, this study considers whether transitions in religious attendance moderate the deleterious impact of childhood maltreatment on long-term cardiovascular risk.

Methods: We utilize over 35 years of prospective panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth from the United States (1979–2015).

Results: Our findings suggest that decreases in religious attendance between adolescence and adulthood (from high to low, and high to moderate attendance) were associated with elevated cardiovascular-related risk for those abused as children. Neither stable high attendance nor increases in attendance buffered against the impact of childhood abuse on cardiovascular-related problems.

Bibliography Citation
Upenieks, Laura and Patricia A. Thomas. "Matters of the Heart: Childhood Maltreatment, Religious Transitions, and Cardiovascular-Related Problems over the Life Course." Journal of Aging and Health published online (2 November 2022): DOI: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08982643221135689.
4. Upenieks, Laura
Zhu, Xi
Life Course Religious Attendance and Cognitive Health at Midlife: Exploring Gendered Contingencies
Research on Aging 46, 2 (11 July 2023): 95-112.
Also: https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275231188998
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Sage Publications
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Cognitive Ability; Life Course; Religion

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

A growing body of literature suggests that religious attendance might mitigate processes of cognitive decline associated with aging. However, few studies have made adequate linkages with the life course perspective. We draw from over 35 years of prospective panel data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (1979-2015) to assess the associations of cumulative exposures to religious attendance over the life course (childhood and midlife) for self-rated cognitive health and working memory (as assessed by the Serial 7s task). Our results suggest that midlife adults who attended religious services consistently between childhood and adulthood had higher self-rated cognitive health and better working memory. Women were also found to receive stronger benefits to self-rated cognitive health from consistent religious practice between childhood and adulthood. This pattern of findings allows for greater reflection into the neural enrichment and neural depletion arguments proposed to explain the religion/cognitive health link in previous research.
Bibliography Citation
Upenieks, Laura and Xi Zhu. "Life Course Religious Attendance and Cognitive Health at Midlife: Exploring Gendered Contingencies." Research on Aging 46, 2 (11 July 2023): 95-112.