Relationships as Sources of Forming Self in the Religious Groups 1,2

Abstract

Current psychological concepts often emphasise the importance of close personal relationships and social context in creating self. The study focuses on the relationships and the influence of the relationship contexts (relationships in family, religious group, ideal group, Slovak current society, God etc.) on forming the perceived self. 128 members of small Christian groups were given a questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic questions and a set of different scales measuring all mentioned constructs. Findings show significant correlations between high self-esteem and positive attributes concerning family, community and spirituality contexts. The significant differences were found between respondents with high and low levels of self-esteem. In addition, results of a stepwise regression analysis show that the personally important relationships have the most substantial influence on forming the self-esteem.