Religiosity and self-esteem among older adults

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Psychology of Religion

Background:

• Conflicting findings exist regarding religiosity's impact on self-esteem in later life.
• Some studies suggest positive associations, while others indicate negative correlations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate a potential nonlinear, U-shaped relationship between religiosity and self-esteem in older adults.
• To test the hypothesis that self-esteem is highest at both extremes of religious commitment (high and low) and lowest at moderate levels.

Main Methods:

• The study examined the relationship between levels of religious commitment and self-esteem in an elderly population.
• Data analysis focused on identifying nonlinear patterns in self-evaluations based on religiosity.

Main Results:

• The findings largely supported a U-shaped relationship between religiosity and self-esteem.
• However, the lowest self-esteem was observed in individuals with very low religious commitment, not moderate levels.

Conclusions:

• Religiosity appears to have a complex, nonlinear association with self-esteem in older adults.
• While high religiosity may be linked to higher self-esteem, very low commitment is associated with the lowest self-worth.