J Sci Study Relig. 2009 Dec 1;48(4):756-773. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01477.x.
This study had two goals. The first goal was to see if church-based social relationships are associated with change in self-esteem. Emotional support from fellow church members and having a close personal relationship with God served as measures of church-based social ties. The second goal was to see whether emotional support from fellow church members is more strongly associated with self-esteem than emotional support from secular social network members. The data came from an ongoing nationwide survey of older adults. The findings revealed that having a close personal relationship with God is associated with a stronger sense of self-esteem at the baseline and follow-up interviews. In contrast, emotional support from fellow church members was not associated with self-esteem at either point in time. However, emotional support from secular social network members was related to self-esteem at the baseline but not the follow-up interview.
本研究有两个目标。第一个目标是探究基于教会的社会关系是否与自尊的变化相关。来自教会成员的情感支持以及与上帝建立亲密的个人关系被用作衡量基于教会的社会联系的指标。第二个目标是考察来自教会成员的情感支持是否比来自世俗社交网络成员的情感支持与自尊的关联更强。数据来自一项正在进行的全国性老年人调查。研究结果显示,在基线和随访访谈中,与上帝建立亲密的个人关系与更强的自尊感相关。相比之下,来自教会成员的情感支持在两个时间点均与自尊无关。然而,来自世俗社交网络成员的情感支持在基线时与自尊相关,但在随访访谈时则不然。