SPIRITUALITY AND SELF-ESTEEM:
The Role of Religion in the Lives of LDS Teens

Brent L. Top
Bruce A. Chadwick
Brigham Young University

How important is self-esteem? It is generally understood that self-esteem or lack of it affects the attitudes and actions of young and old alike. Whether we call it “self-esteem” or “self-respect” or refer to a “self-image” it is nonetheless an important aspect of life and directly linked to what we do or do not do in life. President Harold B. Lee, in his last General Conference as President of the Church, taught:

As I have prayerfully thought of the reasons why one chooses this course [of wickedness] . . . it seems to me that it all results from the failure of the individual to have self respect . . . . . . . when one does not have that love for himself . . . other consequences can be expected to follow. He ceases to love life. Or if he marries, he has lost love for his wife and children—no love of home or respect for the country in which he lives, and eventually he has lost his love for God. Rebellion in the land, disorder and the lack of love in the family, children disobedient to parents, loss of contact with God, all because that person has lost all respect for himself. . . .

Adolescence—those years between being a child an adult—are difficult times as young people seek independence from parents, despite not yet knowing who they really are. Self-esteem is an important factor during those junior and senior high school years. It will affect not only what they think of themselves, but largely what they do and how they will respond to peer pressure. What, then, determines self-esteem among Latter-day Saint teenagers? Is it the number of friends they have or the stylishness of the clothes they wear? Is self-esteem dependant upon academic performance or athletic ability? Is it determined by physical appearance or popularity?

Undoubtedly, each of these various factors plays some role in the establishment of a teen’s self-image. There are other factors, however, that are also very influential in the development of a positive self-concept. These other factors are often overlooked. Yet, in many ways they are more powerfully linked to self-esteem than some of those things that we traditionally view. Religiosity, for example, has been virtually ignored, at best, or totally dismissed, at worst, as a contributing factor to self-esteem. The fact of the matter is, however, that religion is an important aspect of life to Latter-day Saints. As a result, any investigation of self-concept must also examine the role of religion. This is true for Latter-day Saint teenagers, as well.

We tend to think that the only thing that is going on in the hearts, minds, and lives of LDS teens is friends, school, and activities. As a result, there is a temptation to think that these are the only factors that contribute to a teens’ self-esteem. Over the last decade we have gathered data from nearly six thousand LDS high school students in the United States, Great Britain, and Mexico. We have examined their religiosity, the peer influence they are exposed to, and the kinds of things that their parents are doing in the home to help them meet their challenges. The primary objective of our studies have been to evaluate which of all of these factors is most powerful in helping LDS youth to resist temptation, stand strong against peer pressures, and to better live the standards of the gospel.

As we carefully analyzed the results of the study several significant findings surfaced—some were anticipated and some were not. We were not surprised to learn that, despite published conclusions of some social scientists to the contrary, religion plays an important role in predicting the involvement of LDS teens in delinquent and immoral behaviors. It seemed quite logical to us that, in light of the teachings of prophets and apostles, the more religious LDS youth are the less likely they are to engage in those inappropriate and destructive behaviors. Similarly, we were not surprised to see the power of the family, particularly the influence of parents, in the lives of the youth. These findings and their implications to parents, youth leaders, and religious educators have been published in a wide array of publications, directed both to the academic community and to the church in general. Two results, however, were totally unexpected, yet very positive and gratifying. First, we found that religiosity is directly linked to academic achievement. The more religious and spiritual an LDS teenager is, the better he/she will do in school and the greater will be the desire for additional education. The second finding was even more stunning. We found a very powerful relationship between LDS teens’ religiosity and their self-esteem. The more religious they are, the higher their self-esteem—the better the feel about themselves and the more self-confidence they possess.

MEASUREMENT OF VARIABLES
The independent variable we examined was self-esteem—how the youth feel about themselves—their self-worth, confidence in their own abilities, etc. Two independent variables were also investigated to determine their relationship to self-esteem—religiosity and family characteristics. The study also looked at the relationship these two variables also had with each other.

 

Self-Esteem was measured by the responses of the LDS teens on a five-point scale from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” There were 38 statements concerning the youth’s orientation toward life in general and how they felt about themselves. Thirteen statements dealt specifically with self-esteem and included such sentiments as

• I certainly feel useless at times.
• Sometimes I feel like I am no good at all.
• All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure.
• I am able to do things as well as most people.
• I feel that I have a number of good qualities.

Religiosity is comprised of several different dimensions or facets of religious life. These included professed religious beliefs, public religious behaviors, the salience or importance of religion in personal life, spiritual experiences and feelings, the social acceptance or integration one experiences in his/her LDS ward or branch, and family religious activities. The five point Likert scale measured the level of agreement or acceptance the youth had with various statements concerning their religious life. Religious beliefs were measured by ten statements about traditional Christian beliefs as well as beliefs unique to Latter-day Saint theology. For example, we asked to what degree they accepted the following statements:

• Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God.
• Joseph Smith actually saw God the Father and Jesus Christ
• The Book of Mormon is true and the word of God.
• The president of the LDS church is a prophet of God.

Public religious behaviors included five questions about attendance at church meetings and participation in church activities. Private religious behavior involved four questions about the frequency of personal prayers, scripture study, payment of tithing, and monthly fasting. Importance of religion was measured by eight questions. For example, the youth were asked to rate their agreement with the statement, “My relationship with God is an important part of my life.” Spiritual experiences were assessed by questions that dealt with their feelings of spiritual guidance, comfort, and forgiveness. A sample statement in this category was, “There have been times in my life when I have felt the Holy Ghost.” Three items measured the social acceptance by asking how well the youth felt accepted in church settings by peers, leaders, and adult members of their LDS congregation. Finally, family religious behavior was ascertained with three questions about the frequency of family prayer, family scripture reading, and family home evening.

Family characteristics dealt with everything from family structure to specific parenting practices. Family structure was determined by our asking with whom the teen lived. Options included two-parent, step-parent, single-parent, or other type of family situation. Maternal employment was measured by questions concerning the level of employment of the mother—full-time, part-time, or none. Family happiness was assessed by several questions concerning the students’ perceived happiness of parents’ marriage and general happiness of the family. Family connection was measured by ten questions that dealt with the affection and closeness that the youth felt with their parents. Family regulation was determined by five questions that asked how much parents know about their teens’ friends, activities, spending habits, and use of free time. Psychological autonomy was measured through ten questions about parents’ use of psychologically controlling behaviors such as withholding love from a disobedient child or seeking to control their child’s thoughts, opinions, and feelings.

As will be seen in Figures 2 and 3, certain of the family characteristics—the three parenting practices of connection, regulation, and psychological autonomy—were statistically significant factors in predicting self-esteem among LDS teens. The focus of this article, however, is on the relationship between religion and self-esteem. The family connection will be addressed in subsequent publications.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Two separate statistical methods were employed in analyzing the data and determining the relationship, if any, between religiosity and self-esteem. The first statistical test conducted was bivariate correlation analysis. This allowed us to look at the relationship of one factor, such as religious beliefs, to another single factor, such as self-esteem. Bivariate correlations show us the strength of a variable in predicting a certain outcome (which in this study was self-esteem) independent of the influence of all the other factors.

The second statistical test we utilized is known as structural equation modeling. This allows for multiple factors to be analyzed simultaneously. This helps determine the relative strength of the various factor in influencing or predicting an outcome—in this case, self-esteem. In a way, this simulates “real-world conditions” where there are many influences or factors working together, all at the same time, to produce an outcome. In allowing the various factors to simultaneously “compete” and “cooperate” with each other, we are better able to ascertain which factors are most influential or powerful. Another advantage of this statistical test is that it can show us not only the direct effects of certain factors, but also the indirect effects. For example, religiosity may directly influence (predict) self-esteem, whereas, certain parental influences may only indirectly affect self-esteem. Those same parental factors, however, may directly influence religiosity which, in turn, directly affects self-esteem. Thus, it is important to examine both direct and indirect effects.

From the structural equation model tests that were conducted, we see that religiosity has a powerful, direct effect on self-esteem for both LDS young men and young women. Figure 2 reports the direct and indirect effects of both religiosity and family for the LDS boys and Figure 3 provides the results for LDS girls. It is important to note that beta efficients of .149 and .232 respectively, indicate that religiosity, with all of its various dimensions, is a strong predictor of self-esteem. In other words, the more committed a LDS youth is to his/her religion the better they feel about themselves. Interestingly, the link between religiosity and self-esteem was more pronounced in the lives of the young women than the young men, although statistically significant for both groups.

It was especially interesting to note that certain family characteristics, particularly family regulation and psychological autonomy, were also statistically significant direct predictors of self-esteem. In all of our previous research, the family variables (connection, regulation, and psychological autonomy) were found only to indirectly predict or influence the outcome through intermediate factors such as peer influences and religiosity. While this article is only dealing with the religious factors, it is, nonetheless, important to point out the powerful influence that parents have on a teenager’s self-esteem. Likewise, it is significant to note the influence that emotional connection with the family and the familial regulation that parents administer have on the strength of the teens’ religiosity. As seen in figures 2 and 3, beta coefficients for the family connection variable of .222 and .220 for boys and girls, respectively, indicate that the religious life of the teens is strengthened by a close relationship with parents. Similarly, family regulation also significantly predicts the religiosity of LDS youth. The more parents establish equitable family rules, know what is going on in the lives of their children, monitor their behavior and activities, and dispense appropriate discipline when needed, the more religion will play an important and positive role in their teens’ lives.

Interestingly, regulation was a more powerful predictor of religiosity for boys than for girls; with beta coefficients of .350 and .213, respectively. On the other hand, family connection was more important to the girls than regulation, although only slightly.

Although we knew from the structural equation modeling that religiosity was directly and significantly related to self-esteem, we desired to determine which specific aspects of religiosity were most powerful. In order to do that, we conducted two additional statistical tests. First, from bivariate correlation analysis we were able to see the one-on-one relationship between the specific dimensions of religiosity and self-esteem. The results of this analysis are presented in Table 1. Correlation coefficients report how closely related the two factors are to each other. For example, if there was a perfect correlation (or cause and effect) the coefficient would be 1.0. In this kind of research where there are so many other factors to be considered, perfect correlation would be an impossibility and even extraordinarily high correlation coefficients would be most unlikely. Any correlation score above .10 would be considered statistically significant and could be viewed as an important relationship.

It is significant to note that the three strongest correlations with self-esteem were religious factors that we would characterize as internal as opposed to those religious behaviors that could be externally observed. How important the gospel is in the personal lives of LDS teens was most highly correlated, with a correlation coefficient of .321. The next significant correlation (.265) came from the factor we called spiritual experiences—the degree to which the teens had felt the Spirit of the Lord in their personal lives, had prayers answered, and felt a special closeness to God. Private religious behaviors, such as, personal prayer, individual scripture study, fasting, etc., had the next strongest correlation of .261. Interestingly, the factor public religious behavior, such as, attendance at church meetings and involvement in church programs and activities, although also statistically significant, showed the weakest correlation with self-esteem.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PARENTS AND YOUTH LEADERS

So what does all this mean to us as parents and youth leaders and advisors? First and foremost, we learn that what we do can really matter in the lives of the young people we serve. We must understand that we are not merely teaching lessons or helping the youth better understand the gospel teachings. It is not just about increasing their informational “data base.” Our goal must be to inspire as well as instruct—to not just teach about the Savior, but rather to direct our students to come to know Him for themselves. The more we can lead them on a personal journey of gospel internalization the more confident they will feel, the more spiritually competent they will feel, and the better they will feel about themselves. Our objective should be to inspire them to read the scriptures on their own, seek spiritual guidance in their own lives, and to become familiar through personal prayer with their Heavenly Father. We can hopefully edify as well as educate.

The gospel we teach must not merely enter their heads, but must powerfully enter their hearts. Ultimately, all that we say and do, whether in our homes, family home evening, or classrooms, should be to help them gain their own personal testimony of who they really are, what the gospel can mean to them right here and now, and that they are loved by the Savior with a perfect love. As we accomplish these objectives, we will in turn be strengthening their self-esteem. With self-esteem resulting from increased personal spirituality, not the way the world and pop psychologists would advocate, LDS teens will have the self-confidence and strength of character to resist temptations and stand strong against the many negative pressures they encounter.

In reality, our study isn’t all that groundbreaking after all. We have not discovered anything new or novel. The results of this study only validate what prophets and apostles have long taught. It merely demonstrates with empirical evidence what President Harold B. Lee taught at that memorable General Conference in October 1973. True spirituality—that kind of spirituality that comes from internalization of gospel principles forged with personal testimony—is self-esteem. It is that kind of self-esteem that evokes spiritual power. It works with youth, as well as, adults.

What a difference it would make if we really sensed our divine relationship to God, our Heavenly Father, our relationship to Jesus Christ, our Savior and our elder brother, and our relationship to each other. . . .

. . . I trust that I might have given to you and others who have not yet listened to such counsel, something to stimulate some sober thinking of your are and from whence you came; and, in so doing, that I may have stirred up within your soul the determination to begin now to show an increased self-respect and reverence for the temple of God, your human body, wherein dwells a heavenly spirit. I would charge you to say again and again to yourselves . . . “I am a [son or daughter] of God” and by so doing, begin today to live closer to those ideals which will make your life happier and more fruitful because of an awakened realization of who you are.