Poster #55 - Depression, Peer Victimization, and Self-Esteem across Adolescence: Evidence for an Integrated Self-Perception Driven Model

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders diagnosed in adolescents and adults and is considered to be the most prominent cause of disability worldwide (Merikangas et al., 2010; Whiteford et al., 2013). Depression involves multiple physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and affective symptoms, including hopelessness, sadness, feelings of worthlessness, inability to experience pleasure, social withdrawal, and disordered sleep (APA, 2013). Understanding the etiology of depression in adolescence is important because it is debilitating and consistently predicts depression later in adulthood (Aalto-Setälä et al., 2002).

Some researchers have affirmed that the development of depression must be understood in its social context (Coyne, 1976); specifically in light of adverse peer experiences (Kochel et al., 2012). Peer victimization (i.e., being the target of bullying) is of particular interest since it is reliably linked to depression in youth (Reijntjes et al., 2010), and it is a pervasive phenomenon in schools world-wide, with approximately 35% of youth being bullied by peers and 10% being victimized severely on a regular basis (Vaillancourt et al., 2010). In addition to understanding the interpersonal context of depression, psychological traits and processes such as self-perceptions should also be considered (Beck, 1970; Zeigler-Hill, 2011). Indeed, the examination of constructs highly correlated to both depression and peer victimization could help further elucidate the mechanisms involved in their relation and directionality. Low self-esteem qualifies as such. It is reasonable to suppose that self-esteem, defined as the affective self-perception or evaluation of one’s own worth (Orth, Robins, & Widaman, 2012), could influence the onset and overlapping developmental trajectories of depression and peer victimization.

The objective of this study was to examine depressive symptoms, peer victimization, and self-esteem in one integrated model using a sample of 612 Canadian adolescents (54% girls), who were evaluated consecutively over five years (Grade 7 to Grade 11). Specifically, we examined competing theoretical models using a cascade modeling procedure that takes into account within-time associations, across-time stability, and cross-lagged effects. Controlling for biological sex, ethnicity/race, and parent income and education, evidence (see Figure 1) was found for a vulnerability model (self-esteem predicting depression) and a symptoms-driven model (depression predicting peer victimization). Findings also supported the integration of these pathways into a self-perception driven model characterized by the indirect effect of self-esteem on later peer victimization via depressive symptoms. That is, poor self-esteem initiated a developmental cascade that led to poor mood and poor peer relations. These results highlight the importance of helping youth form a healthy identity that promotes mental health and positive peer relations, and the need to intervene with depressed, victimized, and at-risk adolescents to instill positive self-regard. Our results also emphasize the central role that self-perceptions play in the onset and maintenance of poor outcomes.

Authors

• Zacharie Saint-Georges, University of Ottawa
  Presenting Author

• Tracy Vaillancourt, University of Ottawa
  Non-Presenting Author