ABSTRACT
Historically, black churches have been seen as a viable source of support for providing informal services to African Americans, because of the advocacy and extended kin roles that they have played in African American communities (Poole, 1990; Taylor, Thornton and Chatters, 1987). Recent literature suggests that the informal support offered by black churches plays a particularly important role in the lives of older African Americans. The purpose of this chapter is to examine that role, specifically, the relationship between church support, religious involvement, and psychological well-being among elderly African Americans.
