Self-Esteem and Emotional Intelligence as Predictors of Depression Among Undergraduate
Chinawa, Francis Chukwuemeka
Abstract
The study investigated self-esteem and emotional intelligence as predictors of depression among undergraduates. Four hundred and twenty-three (423) students comprise of 272 females and 151 males, with an age range of 17-22 years, a mean of 23.47 and SD of 5.43 were drawn as participants using availability and purposive sampling techniques as participants from population of Enugu State University of Science and technology (ESUT), University of Nigeria Nsukka Enugu campus (UNN) and Institute of Management Sciences (IMT) students. Zung (1965) Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Hudson (1992); index of Self-esteem (ISE) and Wong and Law (2002) Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) were adopted for data collection, a correlational design was adopted, while hierarchical multiple regression was used for analysis. Three hypotheses were tested, and the results revealed that self-esteem and emotional intelligence failed to predict depression, as there was no remarkable relationship between the variables. There was no significant interaction effect among the predictor variables and the criterion variable at p< .05. Given the findings of the study, the researcher hereby suggests that students with positive mental attitudes can hardly fall into depression.
Keywords
self-esteem
emotional intelligence
depression
References
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personality factors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 114(6):945-958.
doi:10.1037/pspp0000123
Wong, C.-S., & Law, K. S. (2002). Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS)
[Database record]. APA PsycTests. https://doi.org/10.1037/t07398-000
Zung W. W. (1965). A SELF-RATING DEPRESSION SCALE. Archives of general
psychiatry, 12, 63–70. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1965.01720310065008
health. International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England), 26(4), 392–407.
https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2014.928270
Alshikh Ahmad, H., Alkhatib, A., & Luo, J. (2021). Prevalence and risk factors of postpartum
depression in the Middle East: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC pregnancy
and childbirth, 21(1), 542. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-04016-9
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Pub.
Beck, A. T. (1967). Depression: Clinical, experimental, and theoretical aspects. University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Cherry K. (2021). What Is Emotional Intelligence? Theories personality psychology.
verywellmind
Cherry K. (2021). What Is Self-esteem? Theories personality psychology. verywellmind
Dahlin, M., Joneborg, N., & Runeson, B. (2005). Stress and depression among medical
students:
a
cross-sectional
study.
Medical
education,
39(6),
594–604.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02176.x
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression
Hudson W. (1992). The WALMYR assessment scales scoring manual. WALMYR Publishing
Company; Tallahassee‚ FL. Index of parental attitudes.
Ibrahim, A. K., Kelly, S. J., Adams, C. E., & Glazebrook, C. (2013). A systematic review of
studies of depression prevalence in university students. Journal of psychiatric
research, 47(3), 391–400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.11.015
Khan, M. S., Mahmood, S., Badshah, A., Ali, S. U., & Jamal, Y. (2006). Prevalence of
depression, anxiety and their associated factors among medical students in Karachi,
Pakistan. JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 56(12), 583–586.
Mao, W., & Agyapong, V. (2021). The Role of Social Determinants in Mental Health and
Resilience
After
Disasters:
Implications
for
Public
Health
Policy
and
Practice. Frontiers
in
public
health, 9,
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.658528
Mirza, A. A., Baig, M., Beyari, G. M., Halawani, M. A., & Mirza, A. A. (2021). Depression
and Anxiety Among Medical Students: A Brief Overview. Advances in medical
education and practice, 12, 393–398. https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S302897
Mu W., Luo J, Rieger S., Trautwein U., & Roberts B. W. (2019). The Relationship between
Self-Esteem and Depression when Controlling for Neuroticism. Collabra: Psychology.
5(1): 11. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.204
Murray, E.D., Buttner, E.A. and Price, B.H. (2012) Depression and Psychosis in Neurological
Practice. In: Daroff, R., Fenichel, G., Jankovic, J. and Mazziotta, J., Eds., Bradley’s
Neurology in Clinical Practice (6th Edition), Elsevier/Saunders, Philadelphia.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2001). Depression research at the National Institute of
Mental Health
National Institute of Mental Health, Depression, (2016). Transforming the understanding and
treatment
of
mental
illness.
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml. [Ref list]
Orth, U., Robins, R. W., & Roberts, B. W. (2008). Low self-esteem prospectively predicts
depression in adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of personality and social
psychology, 95(3), 695. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.95.3.695
Orth, U., & Robins, R. W. (2013). Understanding the link between low self-esteem and
depression. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(6), 455-460.
Orth, U., Robins, R. W., Widaman, K. F., & Conger, R. D. (2014). Is low self-esteem a risk
factor for depression? Findings from a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin
youth. Developmental Psychology, 50(2), 622-633.
Robinson, L., Smith, M., & Segal, J. (2017). Depression in older adults: Recognising the signs
of
elderly
depression
and
getting
treatment.
Retrieved
from
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/depression-in-older-
adults.htm?pdf=true.
Roh, M. S., Jeon, H. J., Kim, H., Han, S. K., & Hahm, B. J. (2010). The prevalence and impact
of depression among medical students: a nationwide cross-sectional study in South
Korea. Academic medicine :, journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges,
85(8), 1384–1390. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181df5e43
Salovey P, & Mayer J. (1990). Emotional Intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and
Personality. 9(3):185-211.
Sowislo, J. F., & Orth, U. (2013). Does low self-esteem predict depression and anxiety? A
meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological bulletin, 139(1), 213–240.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028931
StudyCorgi.
(2021).
Young
Adulthood
in
Developmental
Psychology.
https://studycorgi.com/young-adulthood-in-developmental-psychology/
von Soest T, Wagner J, Hansen T, & Gerstorf D. (2018). Self-esteem across the second half of
life: The role of socioeconomic status, physical health, social relationships, and
personality factors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 114(6):945-958.
doi:10.1037/pspp0000123
Wong, C.-S., & Law, K. S. (2002). Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS)
[Database record]. APA PsycTests. https://doi.org/10.1037/t07398-000
Zung W. W. (1965). A SELF-RATING DEPRESSION SCALE. Archives of general
psychiatry, 12, 63–70. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1965.01720310065008
