Religiosity and health promoting behaviors in middle-older African Americans: an examination of multi-level psychosocial mediating processes

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The present study of 231 middle-aged to old-aged African Americans aimed to elucidate potential psychological mechanisms involving behavioral control and behavioral attitudes that may link individual religiosity to exercise participation and fruit and vegetable consumption. The alternative mechanisms were tested at (a) the behavior level, (b) the domain level, and (c) a multi-level (a hybrid model of a and b) and were empirically compared. Importantly, the findings demonstrated that the religiosity – health behavior connection among African Americans occurs through both domain-level and specific behavior-level mechanisms. The implications of the findings for promotional interventions and research and theoretical development are discussed.