Contingent self-esteem and vulnerability to depression: academic contingent self-esteem predicts depressive symptoms in students

Abstract

Low self-esteem has been established as a vulnerability factor for depression. In line with recent research, we suggest that a full understanding of the role of self-esteem in depression requires consideration of contingent self-esteem as well. For most people, competence is an important source of self-esteem. Students in particular link their self-esteem to academic competence. To test the hypothesis that academic contingent self-esteem (aCSE) predicts depressive symptoms (DS), two studies were conducted. Preceding the investigation of our hypothesis, the first purpose of Study 1 was to describe the development of aCSE, self-esteem (SE) level, and DS in adolescence in a sample of German students aged 10–16 (N = 1888) in order to provide a foundation for further analyses. Then, to address the main question, age and gender differences in aCSE, SE level, and DS as well as their relations were investigated. The results show that (1) gender differences emerged after the age of 10/11. Girls scored higher on aCSE and DS and lower on SE level than did boys, and aCSE and DS decreased and SE level increased over time in boys, while the rather disadvantageous pattern in girls remained stable. (2) After controlling for SE level and aCSE, the effects of gender and age × gender interaction on DS disappeared, suggesting an influence of aCSE on DS. (3) aCSE predicted DS over and above SE level. Since the results of Study 1 did not allow for causal conclusions, a longitudinal study (N = 160) was conducted to further investigate the causal role of aCSE. According to the diathesis-stress model, aCSE was expected to serve as a diathesis for developing DS in the face of academic stress (daily hassles) during an academic semester at university. The results of Study 2 revealed that aCSE interacted with corresponding hassles to predict increases in DS. High levels of academic stress led to increases in DS only among students who strongly based their SE on academic competence. Implications for prevention and intervention of depression are discussed.

Alcohol use and Depression During Adolescence and Young Adulthood: a Summary and Interpretation of Mixed Findings

“…The presence of AUD or drinking in general at an early age may lead to environmental stressors (i.e. poor academic performance, poor relationship with parents, legal problems) 64–66 , which in turn may lead to MDD. Moreover, AUD and drinking may lead to biological changes that may lead to increased vulnerability to MDD 67 .…”

International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience

“…The secure form of self-esteem is based on acceptance of self-traits and heightened awareness. This is not based on self-evaluative methods and social comparison (Schöne et al, 2015;Woods et al, 2006). Thus, this secure selfesteem based on acceptance of self-traits and heightened awareness may lead to stable resilience and quicker return to a state of equilibrium in the presence of stressors.…”

The intergenerational continuity of parental conditional regard and its role in mothers’ and adolescents’ contingent self‐esteem and depressive symptoms

“…Moreover, prior studies could not find age‐specific differences for adolescents in different phases of puberty. In contrast, research has shown that depressive symptoms typically increase with the onset and during puberty (Schöne, Tandler, & Stiensmeier‐Pelster, ). Therefore, another aim of the present study is to explore whether relations of interest vary in strength for different phases of puberty.…”

“…Although little is known about the role of PACPR and PACNR in this context, empirical evidence consistently demonstrated associations between psychological control and depressive symptoms (Barber, ; Pinquart, ; Soenens, Luyckx, Vansteenkiste, Duriez, & Goossens, ). Moreover, research has shown associations of academic CSE with depressive symptoms in university students (Schöne et al, ) and adolescents (Burwell & Shirk, ). A recent study additionally provided direct evidence for the mediating role of CSE in associations between parental conditional regard and adolescents’ depressive symptoms (Wouters et al, ).…”