Depression in college students: Perceived stress, loneliness, and self-esteem

1. Center for Psychosocial Health Depression in college students: Perceived stress, loneliness, and self-esteem Megan Haynes, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences & Honors College, Center for Psychosocial Health Mentors: Dr. Mark Vosvick, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Chwee-Lye Chng, Department of Kinesiology, College of Arts and Sciences

2. Center for Psychosocial Health Hypotheses • Perceived stress will be positively associated with depression • Loneliness will be positively associated with depression • Self-esteem will be negatively associated with depression • We predict that perceived stress, loneliness, and self-esteem will account for the majority of variance of depression

3. Center for Psychosocial Health Methodology • Self-Esteem Scale • Rosenberg, Schooler, & Schoenbach, • 1989 • Cronbach’sα=.78 • “All in all, I’m inclined to feel that I am a • failure” • 4 point likert-type scale: 1 = strongly • agree 4 = strongly disagree • The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale • (Drebing et al., 1994; Kalichman et al., • 2000) • Cronbach’sα = .84 • “I felt happy” • 4 point likert-type scale: 0 = rarely, none • of the time 4 = most of the time • Measures • Perceived Stress Scale • Cohen et al., 1983 • Cronbach’s α = .85 • “In the last month, how often have you been upset about something that has happened unexpectedly?” • 4 point likert-type scale: 0=Never 4=Very Often • UCLA Loneliness Scale • Russell, 1996 • Cronbach’s α = .94 • “How often do you feel completely alone?” • 4 point likert-type scale: 0=Never 4=Very Often • Method • After receiving IRB approval, participants were recruited from psychology classes at the University of North Texas and given extra credit in return for participation. 316 participants completed consent forms and the self-report survey on computers via QDS software in the Center for Psychosocial Health.

4. Center for Psychosocial Health Sample Demographics Gender NumberPercent Female 240 75.9 Ethnicity European American 184 58.2 African/American 62 19.6 Latino 30 9.5 Other 17 5.3 Mean (SD)Range Age 21.09 (4.96) 17 – 56 Years of Education 13.77 (1.13) 1 – 22 VariableMean(SD)Possible Range Perceived Stress19.514 - 36 Loneliness 12.92 0 - 30 Self-esteem 28.73 22 - 34

5. Center for Psychosocial Health Inferential Statistics Bivariate Statistics Regression Analysis Predictors Depression β t VIF p Perceived Stress .49 11.24 1.46 .000** Loneliness .30 6.90 1.43 .000** Self-esteem -.12 -3.05 1.33 .002* F (3, 312), Adjusted R² = .58 *p<.01, **p<.001 After data was collected, data analysis consisted of bivariate statistics and a linear regression was completed stepwise after controlling for demographic variables. * p < .001

6. Center for Psychosocial Health Conclusions • Hypothesis review • Perceived Stress is positively associated with Depression • Loneliness is positively associated with Depression • Self-esteem is negatively associated with Depression • Perceived Stress, Loneliness, and Self-esteem account for the majority of the variance of Depression • Limitations • Self-report survey • Gender imbalance; there were more females than males • This is a cross-sectional, correlational design therefore causal relationships cannot be inferred

7. Center for Psychosocial Health Acknowledgements • Dr. Wendy Wilkins, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs • Dr. Gloria Cox, Dean, Honors College • Dr. Warren W. Burggren , Dean, College of Arts and Sciences • Dr. Mark Vosvick, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences • Dr. Chwee-Lye Chng, Department of Kinesiology, College of Arts and Sciences