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Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between self-esteem and well-being: multilevel evidence from 57 countries

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Abstract

Maintaining high self-esteem is important for positive psychological health and well-being. However, the connection between self-esteem and well-being may depend on the sociocultural context. Using an international dataset, this study explored the influence of self-esteem on well-being among 48,003 participants in 57 countries and the effect of cultural religiosity in this link. Results of multilevel analyses indicate that the relation between self-esteem and well-being is weaker in religious cultures. These findings not only shed light on when self-esteem promotes well-being, but also highlight the need to consider human and sociocultural interactions when understanding how personal factors promote well-being.

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All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article [and its supplementary information files].

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Funding

This study was not funded.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, 541004, China

    Wang Zheng

  2. Department of Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China

    Yueying Xu

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  1. Wang Zheng
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  2. Yueying Xu
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Correspondence to Wang Zheng.

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The data used in this study were obtained from publicly available databases and had no ethical implications.

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Zheng, W., Xu, Y. Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between self-esteem and well-being: multilevel evidence from 57 countries. Curr Psychol 43, 12552–12557 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05398-z

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