The 1988 Surgeon General's Workshop on Health Promotion and Aging recommended an increase in research aimed at 1) identifying risk factors which influence the onset, course, and treatment outcome of mental disorders in older adults, and 2) identifying coping strategies that foster positive adaptation to later life. Recommendations such as these highlight the need for substantive research on psychosocial factors affecting physical and mental health in the elderly, as well as the need for competent researchers to take a leadership role in academic geriatric psychiatry. An area of research beginning to emerge in epidemiology and gerontology is the role of religious factors in physical and mental health. Epidemiologic data so far suggest that certain religious factors are associated with positive physical and mental health outcomes. However, previous research has been limited by inadequate measures, lack of theoretical support, and an overabundance of cross-sectional study designs. As a beginning investigator in the field of geriatrics with a strong interest and commitment to research on psychosocial factors in health care and mental health, I plan to utilize the award 1) to begin the systematic development of a field of research focusing on the role of religious factors in physical and mental health in the elderly; 2) to continue the development of a leadership role in academic geriatric psychiatry both at Bowman Gray School of Medicine and nationally; 3) to foster the growth of interdisciplinary collaborative research efforts in geriatric psychiatry. Specific plans are 1) to complete an independent study designed to help integrate previous research on religion in sociology and social psychology with current research in epidemiology; 2) to study theoretical and practical aspects of questionnaire design and scale development as applied to the measurement of religious factors in physical and mental health; 3) to develop a pilot study to investigate the role of religious factors in cardiovascular disease in the elderly as an ancillary to the NHLBI-sponsored Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS); 4) to lay the groundwork for a larger multi-site research project as a follow-up to the CHS study; 5) to develop a research project on the role of religious factors in coping among caregivers of demented patients; 6) to develop multidisciplinary collaborative relationships with other researchers interested in psychosocial aspects of physical and mental health in the elderly; and 7) to participate in national conferences on geriatric psychiatry.
