Discrepancies confer vulnerability to depressive symptoms: a three-wave longitudinal study

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Personality Psychology

Background:

• Perfectionism involves discrepancies between actual and ideal selves, potentially increasing vulnerability to depression.
• Existing research is largely cross-sectional, limiting causal inference regarding perfectionism and depression.
• The temporal stability of discrepancies and their unique contribution to depressive symptoms require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To longitudinally examine the relationship between discrepancies and depressive symptoms.
• To determine if discrepancies predict future depressive symptoms, controlling for neuroticism.
• To investigate the reciprocal relationship between depressive symptoms and discrepancies.

Main Methods:

• A 3-wave longitudinal study was conducted with 127 first-year undergraduate students.
• Self-report measures assessed discrepancies, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms.
• Statistical analyses examined temporal relationships and unique predictive variance.

Main Results:

• Discrepancies were found to predict increases in depressive symptoms over time, even when accounting for neuroticism.
• Depressive symptoms did not predict subsequent changes in discrepancies.
• Discrepancies exhibited trait-like stability with some state-level fluctuations.

Conclusions:

• Believing one has fallen short of personal standards (discrepancies) is a significant predictor of developing depressive symptoms.
• Harsh self-criticism and unattainable expectations may characterize individuals predisposed to depression.
• Findings support the role of perfectionistic discrepancies as a vulnerability factor for depression.