@article{ref1,
title="Abstinence versus alcohol use among elderly rural Baptists: a test of reference group theory and health outcomes",
journal="Aging and mental health",
year="2002",
author="Blazer, D. G. and Hays, J. C. and Musick, M. A.",
volume="6",
number="1",
pages="47-54",
abstract="Reference groups, such as religious groups, are thought to provide individuals with normative frameworks which set and maintain standards for them. Persons who belong to a reference group, yet do not comply with the standards of that group, i.e. non-conformists, are thought to experience cognitive dissonance which in turn may lead to psychological discomfort and adverse physical health outcomes. In a community-based, racially mixed sample of elderly Baptists in the rural south of the United States (n = 1155), where Baptist churches proscribe alcohol use, we studied whether alcohol use was associated with adverse physical and mental health assessments. No relationship was found between non-conformist behavior among rural Baptists and adverse health outcomes for either Whites or African-Americans in controlled analyses. More frequent church attendance among African-American Baptists, but not for White Baptists, was strongly associated with abstinence from alcohol.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1360-7863",
doi="10.1080/13607860120101086",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607860120101086"
}