Survey researchers theorize that how whites express racial prejudice changes across time. They argue one of its contemporary forms is racial apathy (i.e., not caring about racial equality). However, few empirical studies characterize racial apathy. To fill this gap, the present study addresses consistency in racial apathy across time at the population level and individual level. Using three waves of panel data (i.e., 2003, 2007–2008, and 2013) from the National Study of Youth and Religion, the authors examine the distribution of racial apathy at each wave. The authors then cross-tabulate racial apathy at wave 1 and wave 3, wave 3 and wave 4, and wave 1 and wave 4. The authors next explore correlates of individual-level consistency in racial apathy across time. Results reveal strong population-level consistency concurrent with weak individual-level consistency in the distribution of racial apathy. Furthermore, few correlates predict individual-level consistency.

Abstract:The salubrious association between religious involvement and well-being is evident among the general population of religious individuals. In particular, the sense of attachment to a deity is linked to promoting healthy behavior and positive well-being. The link between religious attachment and well-being is particularly salient for emerging adults during a life stage where they are developing their own sense of self while also renegotiating religious commitments. The current study uses OLS regression and a lagged dependent variable model to analyze how perceived closeness to God is linked to the sense of life purpose among a diverse, national sample of emerging adults. We find that relative to those perceiving closeness to God, those who reported feeling neutral or did not believe in God experienced lower levels of life purpose. Respondents who reported feeling distant from God had the lowest scores on the Life Purpose Index. The findings are examined within the framework of religion and attachment theory literature. The study encourages researchers to consider attachment to a deity as an important link in explaining well-being outcomes, especially among religious individuals.

No abstract

No abstract

With survey data from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR), this study investigates the association between across-time consistency in closeness to God and well-being. I focus on God-believing individuals who are Protestant, Catholic, or Latter-day Saint, and present across Waves 1–3 (n = 1,333). Outcomes include Wave 3 psychological resources (i.e., life purpose and personal mastery) and life satisfaction. Key predictors include two novel indicators of across-time consistency in closeness to God: (1) a four-category pattern variable and (2) a discrete numeric summary score. The pattern variable indicates respondents who become less close to God across time fare worse than those who remain consistently close to God. In addition, respondents consistently distant from God did not differ from their consistently close counterparts in terms of life purpose and personal mastery. The summary score indicates high levels of consistency in closeness to God predict high levels of life purpose and satisfaction.