Peer Victimization and Depressive Symptoms: The Role of Body Dissatisfaction and Self-Esteem

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica S. Benas ◽  
Brandon E. Gibb

Research has suggested that different forms of negative cognitions contribute risk to the development of depressive symptoms. What remains unclear is whether there is specificity regarding the relation between childhood experiences and young adults’ current cognitions and whether these cognitions each contribute unique risk to depressive symptoms or whether they interact to predict increased depression risk. The primary goal of the current study was to examine the relation between depressive symptoms and young adults’ histories of negative childhood events (e.g., weight-related teasing) and whether certain types of negative cognitions (e.g., body dissatisfaction) mediate this relation. Supporting our specificity hypothesis, low self-esteem mediated the link between general peer verbal victimization during childhood and current depressive symptoms, and body dissatisfaction mediated the link between weight-related teasing during childhood and current depressive symptoms. In addition, supporting the interactive nature of forms of cognitive vulnerability, low levels of self-esteem, combined with high levels of body dissatisfaction, were associated with the highest levels of depressive symptoms.

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Golan Shahar ◽  
Eva Gilboa-Shechtman

We examined the role of three depression-related cognitive personality styles in young adults’ social anxiety: evaluation concerns, positive achievement striving, and dependency. Sixty-nine undergraduates were administered measures of the aforementioned personality variables, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety. Controlling for participants’ depressive symptoms, we found that evaluation concerns, particularly self-criticism, predicted elevated levels of social anxiety. Dependency also predicted elevated social anxiety, but this effect was small and marginally significant (p = .05). Finally, positive achievement striving predicted low levels of social anxiety but only in the presence of evaluation concerns. Findings are consistent with earlier theoretical conceptualizations of social anxiety as reflecting low self-worth.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasida Ben-Zur

Abstract. The current study investigated the associations of psychological resources, social comparisons, and temporal comparisons with general wellbeing. The sample included 142 community participants (47.9% men; age range 23–83 years), who compared themselves with others, and with their younger selves, on eight dimensions (e.g., physical health, resilience). They also completed questionnaires assessing psychological resources of mastery and self-esteem, and three components of subjective wellbeing: life satisfaction and negative and positive affect. The main results showed that high levels of psychological resources contributed to wellbeing, with self-enhancing social and temporal comparisons moderating the effects of resources on certain wellbeing components. Specifically, under low levels of mastery or self-esteem self-enhancing social or temporal comparisons were related to either higher life satisfaction or positive affect. The results highlight the role of resources and comparisons in promoting people’s wellbeing, and suggest that self-enhancing comparisons function as cognitive coping mechanisms when psychological resources are low.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Zeidan ◽  
Souheil Hallit ◽  
Marwan Akel ◽  
Ismail Louragli ◽  
Sahar Obeid

Abstract Background Adults all over the world face serious issues from problematic smartphone use (PSU). It influences them negatively on a cognitive, behavioral, and emotional level, as well as on their tendencies and well-being. In Lebanon, the prevalence of PSU was shown to be 20.2% within the adult population, specifically with young adults (18–34 years old). This study investigates the validity and reliability of the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) Arabic version. In addition, this study evaluates the association between PSU and affective temperaments and the mediating role of self-esteem in this association. Method A cross-sectional study was carried out between August and September 2020, using a sample of community-dwelling participants aged 18 to 29 years. The Smartphone Addiction Scale—Short Version was used to evaluate smartphone addiction among adolescents and adults. The five different temperaments of the patients were assessed by using the Affective temperament Scale (TEMPS‐A). The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was used to evaluate self-esteem. Results 461 participants were included in this study. All items of the SAS were extracted and yielded a one-factor solution with Eigenvalues > 1 (variance explained = 49.96%; αCronbach = 0.886). The confirmatory analysis results consolidated those obtained from the factor analysis. Higher depressive temperament (B = 0.46) was significantly associated with more smartphone addiction, whereas higher self-esteem (B =  − 0.28) was significantly associated with less smartphone addiction. Self-esteem was found to mediate the association between depressive and hyperthymic temperaments with smartphone addiction. Conclusion This study added a better understanding of the high smartphone addiction rate among adults in Lebanon. It confirms the association between affective temperaments and PSU through the mediating effect of self-esteem on Lebanese adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 397-407
Author(s):  
Madihah Shukri ◽  
Mohd Azman Mustofai ◽  
Md Aris Safree Md Yasin ◽  
Tuan Sharipah Tuan Hadi

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine how burden and quality of life predict anxiety and depressive symptoms among caregivers of hemodialysis patients. Social support was included in the model as a proposed moderator in the above relationships. Methods This cross-sectional study involved 340 caregivers of chronic kidney patients undergoing hemodialysis. The setting was in Terengganu, Malaysia. The caregivers completed the measures of caregiving burden, quality of life, social support, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Results About 28.8% and 52.4% of caregivers showed clinically moderate levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. Furthermore, 35.9% and 3.8% of them showed clinically high levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. Analyses showed that general quality of life was a significant predictor of both anxiety and depressive symptoms. Burden and psychological domains of quality of life significantly predicted anxiety. In addition, a lack of social support was a determinant of depressive symptoms. Evidence suggested that social support moderated the burden–anxiety relationship. Specifically, caregivers with low levels of social support showed more elevated levels of anxiety symptoms when their burden was higher. Conclusion There is an urgent need for early detection to initiate prompt treatment in this population. The study provides some important insights into offering comprehensive intervention to help caregivers cope more effectively through the provision of sufficient social support to buffer the effects of caregiving burden and improve mental health.


Author(s):  
Jacky C. K. Ng ◽  
Vince W. T. Cheung ◽  
Helen S. M. Wong ◽  
Sherry M. Y. Leung ◽  
Victor C. Y. Lau

Over the past few decades, the role of self-views in life satisfaction has been extensively investigated. Recently, growing attention has been directed to the question of whether an optimistic worldview, termed “reward for application”, helps boost life satisfaction. Conceptually, the association between reward for application and life satisfaction can be paradoxical. Due to various methodological and theoretical shortfalls, previous investigations were unable to draw a robust conclusion on this association. To address these shortfalls, two cross-lagged panel studies were conducted with different time lags. Over and above the potential confounds of self-views (namely, self-esteem and self-rated personality traits), reward for application had a positive effect on lagged life satisfaction among both adolescents and young adults, while the reverse effect was not found. Moreover, we found support for the multiplicative effect between worldviews and self-views, in which the positive effect of reward for application on life satisfaction was attenuated by high self-esteem.


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