Conservatism is good for you: Cultural conservatism protects self-esteem in older adults

The present research explores whether adhering to cultural conservative beliefs elevates self-esteem in older people. In a sample of 311 retired persons it was found that conservatism was positively related to self-esteem, and that this relationship was especially strong in the oldest age group. Statistical control for narcissism did not undermine this moderation effect between age and conservatism on self-esteem. In the discussion, we argue that conservatism among older people seems to go together with a focus on putting personal history in social-cultural context.