Religious attitudes and self-control as predictors of self-esteem in Peruvian Christians: a cross-sectional study

Self-esteem, a key indicator of psychological well-being, is shaped by both individual and contextual factors, including self-control and attitudes toward religion. However, its specific interplay within religious cultural contexts, such as that of Peru, remains underexplored. To determine the predictive role of self-control and attitudes toward religion on self-esteem in a sample of Peruvian Seventh-day Adventist Christians, and to examine potential mean differences across sociodemographic variables including sex, age, marital status, and educational level. This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 297 members of the SDA, selected through non-probabilistic purposive sampling. The instruments used included the Attitudes Toward Religion Scale, the Brief Self-Control Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Data were collected through online questionnaires administered via Google Forms, and the analysis was conducted using multiple statistical models. The results indicated significant differences in attitudes toward religion, self-control, and self-esteem based on marital status and age (p < .05). In addition, positive and significant correlations were observed between attitude toward religion and self-esteem (p < .001, CI [0.258, 0.456]), as well as between self-control and self-esteem (p < .001, CI [0.346, 0.530]). Finally, self-control (β = 0.360, p < .001, CI [0.254, 0.467]) and attitude toward religion (β = 0.236, p < .001, CI [0.130, 0.342]) were significant predictors of self-esteem, accounting for 23.9% of its variance. These results have important implications for promoting psychological well-being in religious contexts and highlight the need to develop intervention strategies that enhance self-control and recognize religious practices as valuable resources for improving self-esteem.