Effects of contingent self-esteem on depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior

Does Relationship-Contingent Self-Esteem Play a Role in the Stress to Impaired Control Pathway to Alcohol-Related Problems in a College Student Sample?

The Appraisal-Disruption Model (ADM) suggests that individuals use alcohol as a means of dampening negative self-talk. Relationship-contingent self-esteem (RCSE) emerges from validating one's self-esteem depending on one's romantic relationship(s) and is known to predict alcohol-related problems. We hypothesized that RCSE indirectly predicts drinking outcomes through the mediating mechanism(s) of stress and impaired control over alcohol (IC; drinking to excess beyond one's own intentions). We fit a multiple-group structural equation model with self-report survey data from 479 college students. We used a 20,000 bootstrap technique to examine possible mediated pathways. Consistent with evolutionary theory, our model was moderated by sex: more variance in alcohol-related problems was explained for women (R2 = 0.479) than for men (R2 = 0.280). RCSE was directly linked to more stress. Furthermore, higher levels of RCSE were indirectly linked to more IC through increased stress, and in turn, more heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related problems for both men and women. Consistent with the ADM, those with higher levels of RCSE experienced more stress and, in turn, more IC and subsequent adverse alcohol outcomes. Thus, therapists targeting alcohol use disorders (AUDs) may wish to determine if their client's self-esteem changes dramatically based on their moment-to-moment appraisal of their intimate relationships.

Parental conditional regard: A meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Parental conditional regard involves parents giving or withdrawing affection and approval, depending on children's and adolescents' compliance with parental expectations, to shape behaviors and traits. Research grounded in self-determination theory suggests parental conditional regard harms psychological development. Using self-determination theory as a theoretical foundation for investigating outcomes associated with parental conditional regard, the present study consolidated meta-analytic associations between parental conditional regard and four theoretically important individual difference correlates: introjected self-regulation, contingent self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and relatedness.

METHODS

Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search was conducted using the PsycINFO, ProQuest, and EBSCO databases for English-language, peer-reviewed published studies and unpublished studies. Eligible studies reported an association between parental conditional regard and the four theoretically derived correlates or another correlate of interest in pre-adolescent children, adolescents, or young adults. The results were based on a random-effects model for meta-analyses and the Q statistic for moderator analyses.

RESULTS

Across 31 samples in total, greater parental conditional regard was significantly associated with more introjected regulation (r = .33), contingent self-esteem (r = .29), and level of depressive symptoms (r = .22); and less relatedness (r = -.24). Moderator results for parental conditional regard type found parental conditional regard's association with introjected regulation was significantly stronger for studies measuring giving regard (parental conditional positive regard) than withdrawing regard (parental conditional negative regard). The association of parental conditional regard with depressive symptoms was significantly stronger for studies measuring parental conditional negative regard than parental conditional positive regard.

CONCLUSIONS

The meta-analytic results provide theoretical and empirical support for the connections between self-determination and the impact of parental conditional regard.

The importance of urban planning: Views of greenness and open space is reversely associated with self-reported views and depressive symptoms

INTRODUCTION

Exposure to green spaces is beneficial to mental health in a variety of ways, ranging from stress reduction to increased attentiveness and elevated self-esteem. The impact of views of greenness, as opposed to direct exposure, has been examined, but the association between self-reported views and depressive symptoms is not known. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between views of greenness and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score.

METHODS

Questionnaire responses from 191 participants in the Health, Environment, and Action in Louisville (HEAL) study were examined. Univariate statistical analyses included Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman rank tests. Inferential statistical analysis was linear regression.

RESULTS

Participant satisfaction with residential greenness was significantly associated with reduced PHQ-9 score (partially adjusted: linear coefficient = -0.42; 95% CI: -0.70 - -0.14; fully adjusted: linear coefficient = -0.21; 95% CI: -0.44 - 0.02). Additionally, being satisfied with local greenness was significantly associated with having views of greenness from home (linear coefficient = 1.97; 95% CI: 1.23-2.68).

CONCLUSIONS

Though views of greenness were not directly associated with depression, satisfaction with local greenness was associated with reduced PHQ-9 score, and having views of greenness from home was crudely associated with increased greenness satisfaction. The findings suggest urban greening interventions that focus on greenness satisfaction may be a strategy to reduce depression. Further research is necessary to better understand these relationships.

Psychological characteristics of suicide attempters among undergraduate college students in China: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

There is a need to understand the psychological characteristics of suicide attempters to prevent future suicide attempts. This study aims to examine potential differences between individuals who have attempted suicide and those who have not done so, on several risk and protective measures.

METHOD

Participants were 11,806 undergraduate students from seven provinces in China, of which 237 reported a non-fatal suicide attempt. We used the random numbers generator function within the SPSS to randomly select a control subset of 1185 participants to be used as the comparison group based on a 1:5 case-control ratio. Scores on three commonly used risk measures (depression, hopelessness, and psychache) and three protective measures (social support, self-esteem, and purpose in life) for suicidality were adopted to compare the responses of the two groups.

RESULTS

Suicide attempters had indicated higher Median scores for all three risk factor measurements. Suicide attempters also reported significantly lower Median scores for all three protective factor measurements compared to non-suicide attempters. The results suggest that the suicide attempters' group had higher risks of suicidality compared to the non-attempter group.

CONCLUSIONS

Suicide attempters continued to report higher scores of risk factors and lower scores of protective factors, indicating that they may continue to be at a higher likelihood of a suicide attempt. Key protective factors should be identified for each individual in order to deliver appropriate clinical interventions to reduce their risk of reattempting.

Effects of Food Art Therapy on the Self-Esteem, Self-Expression, and Social Skills of Persons with Mental Illness in Community Rehabilitation Facilities

Persons with mental illness often have low self-esteem, a lack of self-expression, and poor social skills. This study used a quasi-experimental two-group pre-test-post-test design to investigate the effects of food art therapy on the self-esteem, self-expression, and social skills of persons with mental illness attending community rehabilitation facilities. The authors recruited persons with mental illness aged 18 years or older attending three community rehabilitation facilities. Participants in two rehabilitation facilities participated in food art therapy (experimental groups 1 and 2; n = 15 for each group), and participants in the third rehabilitation facility participated in regular programs of the facility (control group, n = 30). Participants in the experimental groups attended a total of eight sessions of food art therapy twice per week for four weeks. The Korean versions of the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, self-expression scale, and social skill rating system were administered at pre- and post-test in both the experimental and control groups. The self-esteem, self-expression, and social skills of the experimental group improved significantly compared to the control group. The findings suggested that food art therapy would be an excellent psychosocial intervention to help persons with mental illness to rehabilitate in the community.

The relationship between left-behind experience and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in college students in China: the mediation effect of self-esteem

The number of left-behind children in China is gradually increasing, and college students with left-behind experience (LBE) have more severe mental health problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of LBE and the obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms of college students, explore the mediation role of self-esteem in the relationship between them. A total of 4145 college students were recruited in Anhui province, China. The Chinese Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) were used to measure OC symptoms and self-esteem. Bootstrap program was used to test the mediation effect. The results showed that the detection rate of OC symptoms was 24.1%. Multiple linear regression analyses found that LBE was positively associated with OC symptoms (t = 2.928, p = 0.003). High self-esteem scores in college students were significantly associated with a lower probability of OC symptoms (t = -17.023, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the test of Bootstrap showed that the indirect effect of self-esteem between LBE and OC symptoms was significant for 95% CI (LLCI = 0.3586, ULCL = 0.7264) and the mediation effect was 0.5396. The ratio of the indirect effect to the total effect was 0.408. OC symptoms were common mental health problems among college students. LBE had a positive predictive effect for OC symptomsand self-esteem plays a mediating role between them. Improving self-esteem will be beneficial to prevent and control the OC symptoms of college students.

Low Chronic Self-Esteem and Low Situational Self-Esteem: a literature review

OBJECTIVE

to develop a literature review about low self-esteem and components of the nursing diagnoses Low Chronic Self-Esteem and Low Situational Self-Esteem in patients with depressed mood.

METHOD

an integrative literature review carried out in the Pubmed portal and in the Scopus and Web of Science electronic bibliographic databases. Depression and self-esteem descriptors were used, resulting in 32 articles.

RESULTS

literature indicated 7 clinical indicators and 14 etiological factors for low self-esteem.

CONCLUSION

The clinical indicators Suicidal ideation and Ineffective treatment were more prevalent in the study. The etiological factors Stressful events and Stigmatization were the most frequent, both of which were suggested as new related factors for low self-esteem. Nursing diagnosis recognition can contribute to intervention strategy elaboration by the nurse, according to the urgent diagnostic and the individual's particularities.

Feelings of Entrapment and Defeat Mediate the Association Between Self-Esteem and Depression Among Transgender Women Sex Workers in China

BACKGROUND

Transgender women sex workers have a high prevalence of depression. Low self-esteem and subsequent involuntary subordination (characterized by feelings of defeat and entrapment) are well-documented risk factors for depression. The object of the present study was to investigate the mediating effect of feelings of entrapment and defeat on the relationship between self-esteem and depression among transgender women sex workers in China.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Shenyang and Guangzhou in 2017. Participants were 198 transgender women sex workers who completed a structured questionnaire assessing background characteristics, self-esteem, feelings of entrapment and defeat, and depression. Linear regression was used to test the mediation hypotheses.

RESULTS

Of participants, 25.25% exhibited high levels of depression. Self-esteem scores were negatively correlated with depression scores (r = -0.54, p < 0.05, R 2 adj = 0.23), defeat scores (r = -1.68, p < 0.05, R 2 adj = 0.31), and entrapment scores (r = -1.67, p < 0.05, R 2 adj = 0.25). In the mediation hypothesis model, entrapment (r = 0.21, p < 0.05) and defeat (r = 0.08, p < 0.05) had a complete mediating effect on the relationship between self-esteem (Spearman's r = -0.06, p = 0.36) and depression (R 2 adj = 0.61).

CONCLUSION

Feelings of entrapment and defeat mediated the association between self-esteem and depression. More focus is needed on monitoring feelings of defeat and entrapment among transgender women sex workers to mitigate the risk of depression.

Effects of comfort care on symptoms, gastric motility, and mental state of patients with functional dyspepsia

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common upper gastrointestinal disorder globally, but the current treatments for FD are still unsatisfactory. This study was aimed at investigating the effects of comfort care on symptoms, gastric motility, and mental state of patients with FD.One hundred consecutive patients with FD treated at the Wuhan Union Hospital (Wuhan, China) between 03/2016 and 02/2018 were randomized to routine nursing and comfort care on the basis of routine nursing (50 patients/group), all for 8 weeks. The primary endpoint was FD symptom score. The secondary endpoint included gastric emptying rate, gastric motility parameters, and depression and anxiety scores. The endpoints were assessed at baseline and after 8 weeks.There were no significant differences between the 2 groups for gender, age, body mass index, types of FD, and course of disease (P > .05). The symptom score in the comfort care group at week 8 was lower than in the routine nursing group (8.3 ± 2.4 vs 10.2 ± 2.4, P < .001). The gastric emptying rate in the comfort care group at week 8 was higher than in the routine nursing group (28.6 ± 5.1 vs 24.3 ± 5.5, P < .001). The fasting and postprandial dominant frequencies of electrogastrogram in the comfort care group at week 8 were higher than in the routine nursing group (1.9 ± 0.9 vs 1.8 ± 1.0, P = .004; 3.1 ± 1.0 vs 2.1 ± 0.9, P < .001). The postprandial dominant power of electrogastrogram in the comfort care group at week 8 was higher than in the routine nursing group (55.7 ± 11.5 vs 42.3 ± 12.5, P < .001). The cases of abnormal electrogastrogram rhythm in the comfort care group at week 8 were significantly less than in the routine nursing group (P = .003). The self-rating depression scale and self-rating anxiety scale in the comfort care group at week 8 were significantly lower than in the routine nursing group (42.5 ± 6.9 vs 47.3 ± 6.4, P = .001; 41.1 ± 7.2 vs 46.3 ± 6.9, P < .001).Comfort care reduces the symptoms of patients with FD, increases gastric emptying rate, improves gastric motility, relieves patient's depression and anxiety, and promotes the rehabilitation of the disease.

Identifying suicide risk among college students: A systematic review

Mental health research highlights the need to focus on suicide risk in college students. However, evidence for associated risk and protective factors in this cohort is mixed. This review synthesizes data from 29 independent studies (N = 11,557 participants). Self-reported depression, cumulative stressful life events, sleep difficulties, a disconnection from others, and a sense of hopelessness demonstrated significant associations with heightened suicide risk. Reasons to live and hope provided significant protective effects. The findings highlight key intervention targets, pointing to the importance of cognitive-behavioral interventions to ameliorate suicidal thoughts but also build dispositional hope and goal-directed thinking.

Self-criticism, interpersonal conditions, and biosystemic inflammation in suicidal thoughts and behaviors within mood disorders: A bio-cognitive-interpersonal hypothesis

We review the theoretical and empirical literature on the role of self-concept in suicidal behavior in the context of mood disorders (i.e., unipolar depression and bipolar spectrum disorders). The main themes emanating from this review are then juxtaposed against (a) the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide and (b) biological research on the role of inflammatory processes in suicidality. Such a juxtaposition paves the way for a bio-cognitive-interpersonal hypothesis. Pathologies of the self-concept-primarily self-criticism-propel mood disorder sufferers to generate interpersonal stress that culminates in two proximal causes of suicidality: thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. In turn, these two interpersonal conditions set in motion systemic biosystemic inflammation, serving as a proximal cause for suicidality in mood disorders. We conclude by describing a research project aimed at testing this hypothesis, and by outlining pertinent implications for assessment, treatment, and prevention.

How does Conditional Regard Impact Well-being and Eagerness to Learn? An Experimental Study

Conditional regard refers to regard dependent upon the receiver's fulfillment of certain expectations. Using an experimental design, we examined the effect of conditional negative and positive regard on well-being and eagerness to learn in university freshmen (N = 131). Participants experienced either failure or success followed by conditional vs. unconditional regard. As expected, success and failure had opposite effects on well-being and eagerness to learn. More importantly, there was an increase in positive affect following success in the context of conditional regard, but not in the context of unconditional regard. Additionally, the decrease in positive affect following failure was more pronounced when accompanied by conditional as compared to unconditional regard. Conditional regard thus magnified the impact of success versus failure on students' emotional experiences.

Mediating Effects of Positive Thinking and Social Support on Suicide Resilience

Suicide has been the second leading cause of death for 18- to 24-year-olds in the United States since 2011. The stress experienced by undergraduate college students has the potential to increase one’s risk for suicide. Resilience theory was used as a theoretical framework to examine the interplay between risk and protective factors. A cross-sectional and correlational design was used to assess the mediating effects of positive thinking and/or social support on suicide resilience in 131 college students 18 to 24 years old who completed an online survey. The study found an indirect effect of self-esteem on suicide resilience through positive thinking and social support indicating that as self-esteem increases, positive thinking and social support also increase, which leads to an increase in resilience. The study also found a direct effect of self-esteem, positive thinking, and social support on suicide resilience. The findings inform the development of tailored interventions to build suicide resilience in college students.

A Cognitive Distortions and Deficits Model of Suicide Ideation

Although cognitive distortions and deficits are known risk factors for the development and escalation of suicide ideation and behaviour, no empirical work has examined how these variables interact to predict suicide ideation. The current study proposes an integrative model of cognitive distortions (hopelessness and negative evaluations of self and future) and deficits (problem solving deficits, problem solving avoidance, and cognitive rigidity). To test the integrity of this model, a sample of 397 undergraduate students completed measures of deficits, distortions, and current suicide ideation. A structural equation model demonstrated excellent fit, and findings indicated that only distortions have a direct effect on suicidal thinking, whereas cognitive deficits may exert their effects on suicide ideation via their reciprocal relation with distortions. Findings underscore the importance of both cognitive distortions and deficits for understanding suicidality, which may have implications for preventative efforts and treatment.

The Pursuit of Self-Esteem and Its Motivational Implications

Although recent studies have found contingent self-esteem (CSE) to be negatively related to individuals’ well-being, research concerning its implications for motivation and engagement is scarce. In two studies, we investigated the relation between CSE, motivation, and engagement in achievement-related situations. A first cross-sectional study among second year high school students (N = 641; 54.1% female) confirmed the hypothesized motivational ambiguity associated with academic CSE. Beyond the contribution of academic self-esteem, academic CSE was positively related to behavioral and emotional engagement, but also to emotional disaffection and test anxiety. These associations could partially be explained by motivational quality, as CSE was also positively related to both autonomous and controlled types of motivation. In a second experimental study among university students (N = 72; 70.8% female), who participated in a tangram puzzle task under varying feedback circumstances, global CSE related to more tension, while predicting less behavioral task perseverance. These effects were not moderated by the type of feedback provided (i.e., positive vs. negative). Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.