Loneliness, Stress, Self Esteem and Depression Among Malaysian Adolescents
Abstract
ABSTRACTThe current study examined the degree of relationships between loneliness, stress and selfesteem with depression among adolescents. The respondents were 1407 secondary school adolescents aged between 13 to 17 years old from selected states in Malaysia. Data were collected by using a self-administered questionnaire. Adolescent depression was measured by Children Depression Inventory (CDI) (Kovacs, 1985) while stress was measured by Perceive Stress Scale (Cohen, 1983). Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980) measured loneliness and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) measured self-esteem. The findings of the study showed that loneliness, stress and self-esteem have moderate significant relationships with depression and stress emerged as the strongest predictor of adolescent depression.
References
Abela, J.R.Z., & D’Alessandro, D.U. (2002). Beck’s theory of depression: A test of the Diathesis-stress and causal mediation components. British Journal of Clinical Psychology,41(2), 111-128.
Alpass, F. M., & Neville, S. (2003). Loneliness, health and depression in older males. Aging & Mental Health, 7, 212–216.
Cacioppo, J. T., Hughes, M. E., Waite, L, J., Hawkley, L. C., & Thisted, R. A. (2006). Loneliness as a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Psychology and Aging, 21, (1), 140-151.
Chou, K., & Chi, I. (2004). Childlessness and psychological well-being in Chinese older adults. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19, 449–457.
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385-396.
Cole, D.A., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J., & Paul, G. (2006). Stress exposure and stress generation in child and adolescent depression: A latent trait-state-error approach to longitudinal analyses. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115, (1), 40-51.
Dixon Rayle, A. (2005). Adolescent gender differences in mattering and wellness. Journal of Adolescence, 28, 753-763.
Dixon, A. I., Scheidegger, C., & Mcwhirter, J. J. (2009). The adolescent mattering experience: Gender variations in perceived mattering, anxiety, and depression. Journal of Counseling & Development, 87, 302-310.
Erikson, E. H. (1963). Childhood and society (2nd ed.). New York: Norton.
Hagerty, B. M., & Williams, R. A. (1999). The effects of sense of belonging, social support, conflict and loneliness on depression. Nursing Research, 48, 215–219.
Hartshorne, T. S. (1993). Psychometric properties and confirmatory factor analysis of the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 61, 182-195.
Heikkinen, R., & Kauppinen, M. (2004). Depressive symptoms in late life: A 10-year followup. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 38, 239–250.
Hojat, M. (1983). Comparison of transitory and chronic loners on selected personality variables. British Journal of Psychology, 74, 199–202.
Hudson, D.B., Elek, S.M., & Campbell-Grossman, C. (2000). Depression, self-esteem, loneliness, and social support among adolescent mothers participating in the new parents’ project. Adolescence, 35, 139, 445-453.
Kling, K.C., Hyde, J.S., Shower, C.J., & Buswell, B.N.(1999). Gender differences in self esteem: A meta analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125,470-500.
Kostelecky, K.L., & Lempers, J.D. (1998). Stress, family social support, distress, and wellbeing in high school seniors. Family and Consumer Research Science Journal, 27(2), 125-145.
Kovacs, M. (1983). The Children’s Depression Inventory: A self rated depression scale for school aged youngsters. Unpublished manuscript, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Kovacs, M. (1985). The children’s depression inventory. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 21, 995-998.
Kovacs, M. (1996). The course of childhood-onset depressive disorders. Psychiatric Annuals, 26, 326-330.
Lewinson, P.M., Rhode, P., Seeley, J.R., & Andrews, J.A. (1993). Adolescent psychopathology: Prevalence and incidence of depression and other DSM-III-R disorders in high school students. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 133-144.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1990). Sex differences in depression. Standford. CA: Standford University Press.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1994). An interactive model for the emergence of gender differences in depression in adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence. 4, (4), 519- 534.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Ahrens, C. (2002). Age differences and similarities in the correlates of depressive symptoms. Psychology and Aging, 17, 116–124.
Ollendick,T. H., Seligman, L. D., Goza, A, B., Byrd, D. A., & Singh, K, (2003). Anxiety and depression in children and adolescents: A factor-analytic examination of the tripartite model. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 12, 157-170.
Orth, U., Robins, R W., Meier, L. L. (2009). Disentangling the effects of low self-esteem and stressful events on depression: Findings from three longitudinal studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(2), 307–321.
Oshagan, H., & Allen, R. L. (1992). Three loneliness scales: An assessment of their measurement properties. Journal of Personality Assessment, 59, 380-409.
Pelham, B. W., & Swann, W.B. (1989). From self-conceptions to self-worth: On the sources and structure of global self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 672-680.
Petersen, A.C., Sarigiani, P.A., & Kennedy, R.E. (1991). Adolescent depression: Why more girls? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20, 247-271.
Peterson, A.C., Compas, B.E., Brooks-Gunn, J., Stemmler, M., Ey, S., & Grant K.E. (1993). Depression in adolescence. American Psychologist, 48, 155-168.
Riddick, B. (1996). Living with dyslexia: The social and emotional consequences of specific learning difficulties. London: Routledge.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Russell, D., Peplau, L.A., & Cutrona, C.E. (1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472-480.
Stark, K.D., Hargrave, J.L., Hersh, B., Michelle, G., Herren, J. & Fisher, M. (2008). Treatment of childhood depression. In Abela J.R.Z., & Hankin B.L (Ed.), Handbook of depression in children and adolescents. New York: Guilford Press.
Taylor, J. R., & Turner, R. J. (2001). A longitudinal study of the role and significance of mattering to others for depressive symptoms. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42, 310-325.
Twenge, J., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2002). Age, sex, race, socioeconomic status, and birth cohort differences on the children’s depression inventory: A meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 578–588.
Windle, M. (1992). A longitudinal study of stress buffering for adolescent problem behaviors. Developmental Psychology, 28(3), 522-530.