(PS5-79) Self-esteem and Depression in College Students: The Role of Perceived Social Support

Research has demonstrated a vulnerability model to explain low-esteem as a predictor for depression (Sowislo & Orth, 2013). Moreover, positive perceptions of one's own social support has been found to be a protective factor for depression (Roohafza et al., 2014). Further research is needed to understand the effects of perceived social support and its relationship to self-esteem and depression. The current study investigated whether perceived social support mediates the relationship between self-esteem and depression. A sample of undergraduate students (N=271, Mean Age=19.5, 81.9% female, 77.1% White, 9.9% Black, 4.8% Multiracial) were recruited via university listservs and completed self-reported measures assessing psychological and emotional well-being, such as the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD). Mediation analyses were conducted using SPSS PROCESS macro (Model 4), using listwise deletion to address missing data, to examine the proposed hypothesis. The overall model was found to be significant, F(1, 202)=183.75, p< .001, R2=.48, explaining 48% of the variance. The path from self-esteem to perceived social support was significant (b=1.17, p< .001), indicating that higher levels of self-esteem were associated with higher levels of perceived social support. Additionally, the path from perceived social support to depression was significant (b=-.11, p< .05), indicating that higher levels of perceived social support were associated with lower levels of depression. Finally, the path from self-esteem to depression was significant (b=-1.17, p< .001), suggesting that higher levels of self-esteem were associated with lower levels of depression and demonstrating partial mediation. These results advance the current understanding of the relationship between self-esteem and depression, demonstrating that perceiving social support partially explains the relationship between individuals’ self-esteem and symptoms of depression. Moreover, this study highlights the need for developing and disseminating interventions that target healthy and positive social support perception, especially among undergraduate students experiencing depression. Future research should explore specific types of social support, such as friends, family, or significant others, that may impact the relationship between self-esteem and depression.