June 27, 2017 Older adults who believe God will be there to protect and comfort them in late life are more likely to pray — and the more they pray, the greater their sense of well-being, according to a Baylor study by Baylor sociologists Matt Bradshaw, Ph.D., and Blake Kent. Those who are not confident of God’s care may pray, but they may feel estranged and even experience a decline in mental health.
June 20, 2017 Older adults who believe God will be there to protect and comfort them in late life are more likely to pray — and the more they pray, the greater their sense of well-being, according to a Baylor study by Baylor sociologists Matt Bradshaw, Ph.D., and Blake Kent. Those who are not confident of God’s care may pray, but they may feel estranged and even experience a decline in mental health. (Terry Goodrich, assistant director of Baylor Media Communications, pitched this story nationally. She covers sociology research and faculty.)
June 23, 2017 This article cites a 2012 study by Baylor sociologists Charles Tolbert, Ph.D., and Carson Mencken, Ph.D., who found that places with high concentrations of micro-businesses — companies with fewer than five employees — have healthier residents. Researchers also found that in communities in which many businesses are locally owned, owners are more invested in improving communities by funding local hospitals, health education and recreational facilities.
June 19, 2017 Article about how “buddying up” will make you more likely to work out mentions research published in 2016 in the journal Obesity. Matthew Andersson, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences, who found that the more frequently the dieter was in contact with friends or family members whom they perceived as fitter or thinner than themselves, the greater the weight loss.
June 20, 2017 As people grow older, those who are securely attached to God are more likely to have a sense of well-being — and the more frequently they pray, the greater that feeling, according to a study by Matt Bradshaw, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology, and Blake Kent, a doctoral candidate in sociology. In contrast, those who try to build a relationship with a god that they do not believe will be there in times of need may feel estranged and even experience a decline in mental health. (Terry Goodrich, assistant director of Baylor Media Communications, pitched this research nationally. She covers sociology research and faculty.)
June 9, 2017 Research from the 2011 Baylor Religion Survey is cited in this article about the coupling of the idea of “undeserving poor” with a passionate support for free-market capitalism. “Perhaps it is the fervent individualism of American Christianity which makes free market capitalism seem like a Divine mandate,” said researcher Paul D. Froese, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences.