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Self-esteem and depression. IV. Effect on course and recovery
G W Brown1, A Bifulco, B Andrews
1Department of Social Policy and Social Science, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London, England.
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
|September 1, 1990
Summary
This study suggests self-esteem, including positive evaluation of self (PES), aids recovery from depression. Higher self-esteem contributes to improvement, even beyond environmental factors, indicating a potential causal link in managing depressive disorder.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
- Mental Health Research
Background:
- Self-esteem is crucial in understanding depressive disorder.
- Previous research established environmental factors influencing recovery.
- This study focuses on the final part of a series examining self-esteem's role.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between self-esteem and recovery from depression at a case level.
- To determine if positive evaluation of self (PES) and absence of negative evaluation of self (NES) predict recovery.
- To explore the causal contribution of self-esteem to depression recovery, independent of environmental factors.
Main Methods:
- Examined PES and NES during chronic depressive episodes.
- Assessed recovery/improvement in relation to self-esteem measures.
- Compared self-esteem's effect with environmental factors like reduced difficulties or fresh-start events.
- Analyzed self-esteem's impact on recovery from subsequent depressive onsets, with measurements taken outside of episodes.
Main Results:
- Both PES and NES during a chronic episode were linked to subsequent recovery.
- Self-esteem measures provided additional predictive value beyond environmental factors, suggesting a causal role.
- Positive evaluation of self also predicted recovery from later depression onsets, independent of fresh-start events.
Conclusions:
- Self-esteem, particularly positive evaluation of self, appears to be a significant factor in depression recovery.
- A potential causal relationship exists between self-esteem and improved outcomes in depressive disorder.
- The findings are exploratory due to the small sample size but highlight self-esteem's importance.