AbstractThe purpose of this study is to test a theoretical model concerning the role of self-esteem as a mediator between university students' automatic thoughts and their levels of hopelessness. The participants consisted of 338 students (197 females (58.3%) and 141 males (41.7%) from various departments at the Celal Bayar University. The research data was obtained by utilizing the Automatic Thoughts Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and a personal information form. In this study, the di rect arid indirect relationship between the university students' self-esteem and automatic thoughts as well as their levels of hopelessness were tested using structural equation modeling. The proposed structural model, based on the measurement models, was confirmed as a result of the analyses. In addition, the findings show that the fit indices of the model generally met the conditions of acceptance value, and that the t-values pertaining to the relationships among all of the variables were meaningful. Accordingly, automatic thoughts and self-esteem significantly predict the onset of hopelessness, whereas self-esteem does not serve as a mediator between automatic thoughts arid hopelessness.KeywordsAutomatic Thoughts, Hopelessness, Self-esteem, University Students.Individuals' automatic thoughts and beliefs have been the subject of focus in numerous cognition approaches (Beck, Freeman, & Davis, 2004), and various studies have shown that cognition has an effect on emotion and behavior (Gladding, 2013; Tursi & Cochran, 2006; White & Freeman, 2000). In general, automatic thoughts are the inner dialogues regarding an individual, his/her world, and the future (Beck, 2001; Beck et al., 2004; Corey, 2008), while hopelessness concerning individuals' cognitive structures (Corey, 2008; Dincer & Derelioglu, 2005) reflects negative expectations regarding the future (Abbey, 2006; Beck, 2001, 2005). In addition, hopelessness is a condition associated with self-esteem (Henkel, Bussfeld, Moller, & Hegerl, 2002), and high self-esteem serves as a buffer (Metalsky, Joiner, Hardin, & Abramson, 1993) that provides protection against the onset of hopelessness (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, & Vohs, 2003). Conversely, low self-esteem is related to negative expectations in the future (Beck et al., 2004), and it has a negative effect on individuals' senses (Elman, 2002).In the concerned literature, it has been pointed out that an increase in hopelessness can have a negative effect not only on individuals themselves (Durak, 1994) but also on their problem-solving skills, self-esteem, physical health, self-confidence, learned helplessness (Guler, 2005), gender and class level (Oguzturk, Akca, & Sahin, 2011; Sengul & Guner, 2012), income (Tumkaya, 2005), and productivity and success (Sengul & Guner, 2012). Hopelessness can also cause depression (Ceyhan, 2004; Celikel-Cam & Erkorkmaz, 2008; O'Connor, Berry, Weiss, & Gilbert, 2000; Palmeri & Connelly, 2005; Yerlikaya, 2006), cognitive distortions (Beck et ak, 2004; Corey, 2008), and in extreme cases, it can also lead to suicide (Heisel, Flett, & Lewitt, 2003; O'Connor et ak, 2000; Palmeri & Connelly, 2005; Yerlikaya, 2006). Moreover, various studies have focused on the levels of hopelessness in younger individuals (Erkan, Ozbay, Cihangir-Cankaya, & Terzi, 2012; Kazgan, 2006; Ozmen, Erbay, Cetinkaya, Ta§km, & Ozmen, 2008; Sahin, 2009; Yazici, 2003) as well as different variables that affect university students in Turkey (Agir, 2007; Aras, 2011; Ceyhan, 2004; Celikel-Cam & Erkorkmaz, 2008; Dereli & Kabatas, 2009; Oguzturk et ak, 2011; Ozcelik, Aktas, & Ocakci, 2014; Sahin, 2009; Sengul & Guler, 2012; Tekin & Filiz, 2008; Ucaner & Ozcelik, 2010; Unguren & Ehtiyar, 2009).In the theoretical model of the present study, it is assumed that, based on the direct relationship between self-esteem and hopelessness and automatic thoughts, self-esteem can predict the effect of automatic thoughts on hopelessness. …