Table 1.

Core Study Measures

Volunteering (Wave 1)a Some churches have programs to help people in need, such as food banks or programs that provide shelter to the homeless. Other than giving donations of money, food, and clothing, how often do you spend time working in this type of organization in your church? Tangible Support Provided to Fellow Church Members (Wave 1)b How often do you provide transportation to church for someone in your congregation? How often do you provide transportation for someone in your congregation to places like the grocery store or the doctor's office? How often do you help someone in your congregation with things that need to be done around their home, such as household chores or yardwork? How often have you helped take care of someone in your congregation when they were ill? Religious Commitment (Wave 1)c My faith shapes how I think and act each and every day. I try hard to carry my religious beliefs over into all my other dealings in life. My religious beliefs are what lie behind my whole approach to life. Self-Rated Health (Wave 1 and Wave 3) How would you rate your overall health at the present time?d Do you think your health is better, about the same, or worse than it was a year ago?e

^aThis item is scored in the following manner (coding in parentheses): Never (1); less than once a month (2); once a month (3); a few times a month (4); once a week (5); several times a week (6).

^bThese items are scored in the following manner: Never (1); once in a while (2); fairly often (3); very often (4).

^cThese items are scored in the following manner: Strongly disagree (1); disagree (2); agree (3); strongly agree (4).

^dThis item is scored in the following manner: Poor (1); fair (2); good (3); excellent (4).

^eThis item is scored in the following manner: Worse (1); about the same (2); better (3).