Gender Differences in the Structure and Perception of Religious Support in a Religious Jewish Sample

A Jewish version of the Religious Support Scale (RSS) was administered to 525 religious Israeli Jews to examine possible gender differences in: (a) the dimensional structure, and (b) the perceived level of religious support. Social support was also assessed. After excluding the 3 negatively worded religious support items, factor analyses supported a 3-factor solution for men and a 2-factor solution for women. Reliability analysis and intercorrelation patterns were similar for men and women. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant gender differences in the perception of the level of religious support, whereby women reported more G-d support than men. Discriminant function analysis produced a significant function weighted positively on G-d support and negatively on religious community and religious leader support that differentiated between men and women, suggesting that more women than men tended to have higher G-d support and lower religious community and leader support. Findings are discussed regarding recommendations for future research.