Church-based social support and change in health over time

The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the effects of two types of church-based social support on change in health over time. The first is anticipated support, which is defined as the belief that assistance will be forthcoming in the future should the need arise. The second is enacted support, which refers to assistance that has actually been provided by fellow church members. Data from a nationwide longitudinal survey of older adults suggest that anticipated support is associated with more favorable changes in health, whereas enacted support is associated with a slight decline in health over time. Further analyses suggest that feelings of personal control partially mediate the effect of anticipated support on change in health.