Investigating the protective role of global self-esteem on the relationship between stressful life events and depression: A longitudinal moderated regression model

Abstract

The present study was aimed at investigating the protective role of Global Self-Esteem (GSE) on the relationship between stressful life events and depression. A longitudinal research design, including two measurement occasions with a two-month interval was applied on a sample of 95 university students (80 females) with a mean age of 22.49 (SD = 6.77). A series of scales were administered in both occasions: the Daily Event Checklist (DEC), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale(RSES) and the Center of Epidemiological Study Depression Scale (CES_D). Longitudinal moderated regression models were performed, including DEC, RSES and their interaction (DEC x RSES) as predictors, the baseline level of CES_D as a covariate and the final level of CES_D as criterion. Results showed a negative and significant interaction between predictors, indicating that the prospective effect of stressful life events on depression become weaker as self-esteem increases. Specifically, the detrimental effect of stressful daily life events was observed only at low levels of self-esteem. Similar results were found when a bi-factorial model was applied to the RSES, with the aim to obtain an unbiased estimate of GSE, controlling for potential method effects due to item wording. The main strengths and weaknesses of the study were discussed.