Table 1.
Core Study Measures
| 1. Organizational religiosity (Wave 1 only)a |
| A. How often do you attend adult Sunday School or Bible study groups? |
| B. How often do you participate in prayer groups that are not part of regular worship services or Bible study groups? |
| C. How often do you attend religious services? |
| 2. Nonorganizational religiosity (Wave 1 only)a |
| A. When you are at home, how often do you read the Bible? |
| B. How often do you pray by yourself? |
| C. How often do you watch formal church services on TV or listen to them on the radio? |
| 3. Depression (Wave 1 and Wave 2)b |
| A. I felt I could not shake off the blues even with the help of my family and friends. |
| B. I felt depressed. |
| C. I felt sad. |
| D. I did not feel like eating, my appetite was poor. |
| E. I felt that everything I did was an effort. |
| F. My sleep was restless. |
| G. I could not get going. |
| 4. Death anxiety (Wave 1 and Wave 2)c |
| A. Thinking about death makes me feel uneasy. |
| B. I do not feel prepared to face my own death. |
| C. I am disturbed by the shortness of life. |
| 5. Optimism (Wave 1 and Wave 2)c |
| A. I always look at the bright side of things. |
| B. I’m optimistic about my future. |
| C. In uncertain times, I usually expect the best. |
| 6. Self-esteem (Wave 1 and Wave 2)c |
| A. I feel I am a person of worth, or at least on an equal plane with others. |
| B. I feel I have a number of good qualities. |
| C. I take a positive attitude toward myself. |
a
These items were scored in the following manner (coding in parentheses): Never (1), Less than once per year (2), About once or twice per year (3), Several time per year (4), About once a month (5), 2–3 times per month (6), Nearly every week (7), Every week (8), Several times per week (9).
b
These items were scored in the following manner (coding in parentheses): Rarely or none of the time (1), Some or little of the time (2), Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3), Most or all of the time (4).
c
These items were scored in the following manner (coding in parentheses): Strongly disagree (1), Disagree (2), Agree (3), Strongly agree (4).