The influence of social self-efficacy, self-esteem, and personality differences on loneliness and depression
Year: 2005
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study investigated the relationship of social self-efficacy with various personality and psychological adjustment variables in a sample of 696 college students.Path models were proposed to examine the gender role variables of instrumentality and expressiveness in relation to social self-efficacy and the psychological adjustment variables of self-esteem, loneliness, and depressive symptomatology.The resulting path models indicate that these variables account for 41% of the variance in depressive symptoms and 45% of the variance in loneliness.In the model for depression, social selfefficacy mediates the relationships between instrumentality and depression and between instrumentality and self-esteem.Self-esteem mediates the relationship between social self-efficacy and depression.In the model for loneliness, social self-efficacy mediates the relationship between instrumentality and loneliness, and expressiveness partially mediates the relationship between social self-efficacy and loneliness.Additionally, selfmonitoring was tested as a possible moderator in the relationship between social selfefficacy and depression and social self-efficacy and self-esteem, but non-significant results suggest that self-monitoring does not moderate either of these relationships.These findings provide new information on how social self-efficacy, self-esteem, and gender role variables may serve to protect against depression and loneliness and have implications for possible counseling interventions.
Author: Karen S. Hermann
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2414968246