Race Differences in Elderly Personal Well-Being

Abstract

Previous research on aging among minority populations seems to indicate that racial minorities suffer double jeopardy in terms of objective conditions such as income or housing, but are at least as well off as older whites in terms of subjective well-being. In order to explore reasons for this apparent anomaly, multiple regression analysis was performed predicting life satisfaction with a variety of social interaction variables. Results indicate that frequency of contact with church-related friends is the critical factor in accounting for race differences in well-being. We suggest three plausible explanations for this finding: (1) the church is the hub of a "moral community" in a Durkheimian sense; (2) the church reflects a "community of faith" in which members sharing a common belief exert a positive impact on each other's sense of well-being; or (3) the black church in the South forms a focal point of the community, serving as a pseudo-extended family, particularly for the aged.