The relationship of Holocaust reference group involvement, Jewish identification, Holocaust identification and self-esteem in survivors of the Holocaust / Sheila Erlich.

The purpose of this study was to examine Holocaust survivors from a psychosocial model. The relationship of reference group involvement, Jewish identification and Holocaust identification and self-esteem in survivors of the Holocaust provided the framework. The reference group examined was one of Holocaust survivors. The time spent in a concentration camp, ghetto or labor camp was included to assess the relationship of months of internment to self-esteem. Research questions looked at present age, age at internment and age at entering the U.S. to assess their relationship to self-esteem. The sample consisted of 229 Holocaust survivors between the ages of 43 and 81 all of whom were in some and Jewish identification were positively related to self-esteem in Holocaust survivors. A negative relationship was found between time spent interned and self-esteem. Only present age was related to self-esteem; age at entering the U.S. and age at internment were not related to self-esteem. The discussion emphasized the importance of identifying the group as a contributing force in the self-esteem of Holocaust survivors. As Jewish identification explained the most variance to self-esteem a supplementary analyses was done to assess the contribution of each of the subscales of that construct.